Star Fox Beginnings
by typhlosion1865
Summary: Captain Thomas Brusker is a human who flies with animals. He leaves his desolated home planet of Earth to find a new home, only to be dragged into a war that he cannot escape. Join Captain Brusker in the first installment of the series as he teams up with famous mercenary team Star Fox to end the war and defeat the evil scientist: Andross.
1. A Glimpse in the Void

Star Fox: Beginnings

Chapter 1

A Glimpse in the Void

"Sir, I'm not picking up anything on the scanners. I don't know what it was you thought you saw."

"Keep scanning those sectors, Ensign Murdock. I know what I saw, and it is your job to follow off of my judgements. I wouldn't be Captain if I didn't have a keen mind and a sharp eye."

"Yes sir. Continuing sweep." Ensign Murdock sighed.

"Commander Sherman, you have the bridge. I need to attend to some personal business." The captain said.

"Yes sir." Commander Sherman nodded.

The Captain moved towards his quarters near the right side of the bridge.

"Captain." Sherman called.

"Yes Commander?" The Captain turned to face his first mate.

"With all due respect sir, do you really think you saw something? I mean, we've been constantly seeing lights for months now, and I believe that I can speak for the rest of the crew when I say that we are a little skeptical that there is anything like Earth or that there is even any other life out here. It just seems completely unfruitful sir."

The Captain raised his eyebrows in a disapproving way at his first mate but sighed in understanding at what he had just told him. It was true that they had not seen any hard evidence of any kind of life that would exist beyond their solar system and that they had travelled for several months, which would make any man want to go insane. The captain calmly turned to his crew.

"I understand that many of you believe that we were sent out here to no avail; that this expedition is a suicide mission and that we are doomed to spend the rest of our days shacked up in a space ship. I get it. I don't like what is transpiring here either. But I have clear coordinates that there is something out there where we can start over again. Where we can rebuild the world that we lost to tyranny and political corruption. But I cannot do this alone. I need each one of you to trust me, because the only other option for you right now is to hop into an escape pod and jettison yourselves for another 5 months back to the nuclear wasteland that was Earth. Now, I know what I saw, and I believe that we are truly close to the end of this long and grueling journey. So, you have a choice to make so you best decide now."

The captain turned back towards the door and entered his quarters. There was much murmuring going on in the bridge after the speech that the Captain had made. Many people looked towards Commander Sherman to see what choice he would make. Sherman decided that since they had come this far, that they see it through to the end and to trust the Captain. The entire crew was split between those who would just follow the Captain to the end and those who thought that if a mutiny was to happen, now would be the perfect time to do so. Unfortunately for the possible mutineers, Commander Sherman strictly warned them about what the Captain did to the last crew that decided to mutiny against him during a simulation. This crushed any possibility of an uprising in the ranks, and the crew members continued on-course towards the pre-set coordinates.

As the Captain sat back in his chair, staring at the huge overlapping of light and darkness, he remembered of the last few moments of his time living on Earth. Even after 5 months, the memories of the tragedies that happened there still rang in his head as if they were completely written into his brain with a Sharpie. Standing up, he walked over to the wardrobe and opened it up. Inside was a black uniform decorated with red stripes and golden buttons. Hanging on the rack was a black military cap with a winged medal above the bill. On the left chest region of the uniform read a tag. "T. Brusker" was what the name tag read. Captain Brusker then moved the uniform a little to the left to get a clear view of the left sleeve. On it was a patch that had the letters "USMC" stitched above an eagle on an anchor on top of the planet Earth. He gave a great sigh and then closed the doors, returning to his desk. Then, the old photo of him and his commanding officer caught his eye. He picked it up to get a closer look at the photo. His face went from thoughtful to sorrowful in an instant as the memories flashed in his head strongly.

The year was 2107, and currently, Captain Thomas Brusker was not a captain but a lieutenant standing in his commanding officer's office. The office was filled with medals that were framed and hanging on the walls. There were also photographs of Tom's troop, the 47th Marine Division, strung all along the walls. Facing Tom was a man in his late 60s sitting at a desk that was littered with papers. The man looked at Tom with a kind yet stern look that made him look like Tom's grandfather who was about to explain the concept of how people were made. The man gave a heaving sigh and looked up at his best soldier.

"You wanted to see me, Colonel Bradley?" the lieutenant said to his most trusted commanding officer.

"Yes Thomas. And please, call me Boris. We have known each other long enough to address ourselves as individuals and friends, not as soldiers." The Colonel said politely.

"Yes sir. I-I mean, yes Boris." The lieutenant started to wring his hands nervously as to keep his composure.

"Relax Thomas. I just want to discuss something with you." Boris said. "Please, sit down."

Thomas sat down in the chair, facing one of his most trusted friends.

"Listen Thomas, I am not supposed to tell anyone about this, but I am afraid that the United States and the Russian government have just about put the knife to each other's throats. I feel that it is only a matter of time before someone's hand slips and slits the other's throat."

The look on Boris's face was grim and full of sorrow.

"Do you mean that the world is on the brink of nuclear Armageddon?"

Thomas didn't need a verbal answer from Boris to understand that the world that he knew was ending and ending fast.

"But, how do you know that someone would actually do it? I mean, I thought that we had diffused that situation after The Missile Crisis in 1962. How could anyone possibly think of ending everything that everyone has worked for?"

So many questions were running through Thomas's head and not many of them ended with answers.

"I know that this is a lot to take in Thomas, but you must know that there is nothing that we can do about it. We knew that this was going to happen one day, and I fear that it could happen within the next 3 months."

Thomas's face spoke everything that he was feeling: fear, anger, anguish, confusion. Boris snapped his fingers, startling Tom from his sea of thoughts.

"Listen. I have at least been planning of a way that you could get out before the bombs start falling."

Thomas looked at Boris with a puzzling look.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked.

"I have been putting together a special exploration team that would go out into space and start a new life there. I have recently come into radio contact with some form of radio signal last week. It told me that there was another world out there called Corneria."

"Corneria? That isn't a world that we have discovered yet." Tom said disbelievingly.

"That is because it's not of this system. From what the man told me, there apparently is a solar system outside the known reaches of space called Lylat. It is said to be populated with many inhabitants of many different planets. I think that this might be your chance to start over from the beginning. Before nuclear war ever existed. Maybe you can prevent mistakes from happening over there that we made here."

Tom stood up from the chair and looked at his commanding officer with a look of disbelief.

"With all due respect sir, are you out of your mind?! I mean, what evidence do you have that such a system even exists?"

Boris sighed and took out a photograph from one of his drawers. "Here. See for yourself."

He handed the photograph to Thomas. When Tom glanced down at the photograph, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"How did you get this?" Tom asked flabbergasted.

"During one of my transmissions, I asked if I could get some special coordinates so that I could see the system that he described. Once he gave me the coordinates, I pinpointed the exact location based on the data that he had given me and took a photo of it through the telescope of the ISS space telescope."

"I am at a loss for words. Is there really something out there where we can start over?" Thomas was now filled with interest and wanted to know if this truly was real.

"There is. And that is where you come in Thomas. I want you to go out and start a new life in the Lylat system. But, before you can go, I can't have a lieutenant leading one of my ships into the great unknown."

"Sir?"

"I'm saying that I am promoting you to Captain. I have everything prepped and readied for the excursion, all I need is for you to help make my final wish come true."

"What do you mean sir? You aren't coming?"

"Ah, my boy. Look at me. I am old and lived a good life. You, on the other hand, have so much to live for, and I don't want an apocalypse to ruin all the things you should look forward to."

Thomas looked at his old friend and commanding officer and saw what he meant. Tom's eyes started to well up with tears, but he quickly wiped them away with his sleeve as to not seem weak.

"Ok Boris. I'll do it!" Thomas said finally.

"Good. Now go pack your things and prepare to board at 1000 hrs tomorrow. That's an order!"

"Yes sir!"

As Thomas looked at the picture of him and Boris on his desk in his quarters, those same tears started to well up in his eyes again as the memory faded. Noticing them, he wiped them away quickly and started pacing the floor.

_I just don't understand. Is this really what you were talking about old friend? Is this really the life that you were saying that I should look forward to?_

Suddenly, a ruckus of shouting erupted almost instantaneously from the bridge. A siren had started to ring among the chaos. As Thomas turned towards the doors from his quarters to the bridge, he wondered what was going on and was determined to find out what was making his crew so riled up.


	2. First Contact

Chapter 2

First Contact

As the doors opened, Commander Sherman was seen barking orders to his crewmates. "Ready the weapons systems! If they show any sort of hostility, blast them to hell!"

"Commander, what the hell is going on?!" Captain Thomas said.

"Sir, it seems we have encountered some sort of foreign spacecraft. See for yourself!"

Thomas turned to look at the screen and saw what Sherman was talking about. There, about 200 feet from them, was a spacecraft facing them. It showed no sign of hostility, but it did carry a couple small laser cannons on either side.

"Open a comms channel." Thomas ordered.

"Opening. You're good Captain." Lieutenant Jefferson exclaimed.

"This is Captain Thomas Brusker of the star ship USS Madison. We mean you no harm, but we are foreign to this part of space. If you could respond, I would very much like to have a chat."

"This is Badger Sunder of the cargo freighter Pack Round. Lower your weapon systems and we can talk. We do not wish to cause any unnecessary hostilities."

"Will do. Stand by for docking procedures." The Captain said confidently.

"Stand down Ensign. We are not in any danger here." Tom said.

"With all due respect sir, are you sure that it is a good idea to do this? I mean, we don't even know if they are even friendly. We could be led into a trap with pirates or something." Sherman objected.

"That is why I have a security crew ready at the docking bay. You see, I have been around a lot longer in the military then you have commander. In fact, my commanding officer Colonel Boris Bradley was the best mentor of them all. He was crafty, strategic, and was not quick to violence. He taught me everything I needed to know about what to expect out here from the transmissions that he sent to this system."

"You mean that you were in contact with these people before?" Sherman exclaimed.

"Not necessarily. Bradley had made recordings of every transmission that he had with these people. I studied them in my quarters constantly."

"So that was what you were doing in there." Sherman said in an "aha" sort of way.

Thomas turned back to the screen where the freighter still flew. "Sherman, you have the bridge. As for the rest of you, continue at a level course towards those coordinates."

"Yes sir!" The whole bridge rang with the acknowledgements of their captain's orders.

Tom turned towards the lift and entered. "Docking Bay 1."

The lift started to lower. As he stood there, Tom started to recall the conversation that he had with Boris in this same lift. All at once, the memory started up and Tom was standing inside the lift in his black uniform, Colonel Bradley standing beside him.

"So how do you like the ship Captain?" Bradley asked his newly appointed captain.

"It's pretty good sir. I've never seen a ship quite like this before in my life. What prompted you to create such a thing?" The captain said with a tone of interest.

"Well, a man calling himself Beltino, who is from Lylat, told me that in order to get to Lylat, I would need a sturdy ship with enough propulsion to get an entire crew to its destination within 1 year, otherwise the metal that we have on Earth would freeze over from the constant travel. I then watched a ton of Star Trek and Star Wars and read a bunch of science papers basing themselves on the possibility of lightspeed travel to get an idea as to what I would need to do to get a propulsion system fast enough. Luckily, I had some friends over at Area 51 who had been developing specs and salvaging parts from alien vessels for the scientists to continue research on faster space travel. I hit them up and they sent over a team to start the development of this here ship: A Zenith Class vessel specifically made to travel the far reaches of the universe. Apparently, they are big Star Trek geeks, so they also managed to develop a type of food replicating system that makes real food like what you see from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. In fact, some of them will be going with you in order to provide some scientific expertise for your colony.

"Now, there are 3 ships that have been made. This one, the USS Madison, is more of a civilian transport. You will be carrying over 20,000 men, women, and children on this ship and it is your job to get them over there as safely and efficiently as possible. The USS Roosevelt is a military cruiser. Some of the finest soldiers from every single US military faction will be aboard that ship. Tanks, fighter jets, and small water craft will be aboard that vessel as well. The USS Lincoln is a supply ship. This is where all the scientists will be housed. It is a science vessel and has been ensured with every possibly counter-measure against any scientific accident."

"That is a lot of people sir. Are you sure that everything will be fine sir?" Tom asked quite timidly.

"I believe in you Thomas. I wouldn't have tasked you with this if I didn't know what you were getting into. Now, if you meet any locals, refer to 2 names: General Pepper who is the head of the Cornerian Army, and James McCloud who is the head pilot there for Corneria. If they are present and they ask you who sent you, tell them that I sent you and play this recording."

Bradley handed Tom a recording entitled "Coded messages for First Contact".

"Study those codes Captain, and make sure to play it to them as you call them out."

"I will sir. Again, are you sure that you can't come with us sir?" Tom said, longing for him to come along with him.

"My place is here Thomas, with the rest who are supposed to rebuild the world. Maybe we will see each other again. But for now, I need you ready for the excursion. Don't forget, you are the only person I can trust with this mission. Don't ever forget that."

As the memory faded once again, the door to the Docking Bay opened. Tom stepped out of the lift and proceeded to the airlock. There, 2 men with assault rifles stood in the doorway, rifles at their sides. When they saw the captain walking towards them, they stood at attention and saluted him. The captain casually saluted back and ordered them to be at ease.

"Has the ship docked yet?" The captain said.

"They are just about to finish oxidizing the airlock." One of the soldiers said.

"Good." The captain acknowledged.

When the airlock opened, there stood a badger-like creature in a yellow uniform. The two guards cocked their guns as a sort of warning to the foreigner. The badger seemed not to care and proceeded to stand in front of his host.

"Welcome aboard the USS Madison. I am Captain Thomas Brusker. You must be the captain of the Pack Round: Badger?"

"Yes indeed. That be me. I would like to officially welcome you to the Lylat System." Badger said with a slight bow.

"That isn't necessary." Tom said.

"It's customary for folks like us to politely give a bow to newcomers. Although, I'd say that you are the first "big" newcomers around here." Badger said.

"Okay then." Tom said.

"Now, I'd like to ask you a few questions about this system. First, where can I get a star chart or a map of the system?" Tom asked.

"Well, I don't have a portable chart with me at the moment, but I bet I can point you in the right direction." Badger said.

"Okay. Second, where can I find a General Pepper or a James McCloud here?" Tom asked.

"Oh. Well, that's a little tricky. You see, the General doesn't really give much information to us simple folk about what his whereabouts are, 'specially when it's military business. As for James McCloud, I heard he was to be held a special banquet on the Cornerian base on the planet Fichina."

"And where is this planet Fichina?" Tom asked.

"Well, I can give you coordinates directly on your little thingamajig there." Badger said.

"Just give me the exact number coordinates." Tom warned, thinking that this could be a possible move for a pirate to steal technology. The guards, sensing the urgency of their captain's warning, got into a ready stance, poised to raise their guns at a moment's notice.

"Whoa. Easy there. It wasn't a hostile move. Ok, just to ease you, I'll just tell you the numbers." Badger said in alarm.

Badger motioned for a writing utensil, which a third guard near the lift had gone to get. After the notepad and pen were delivered, Badger wrote down the coordinates for Fichina.

"I must warn you though, even though it's a remote ice planet, Fichina is a pretty well-defended planet. You be careful approaching it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Tom said pompously.

After the encounter, Badger returned to his freighter and set off for his next destination of delivery. Tom, on the other hand, had returned to the bridge. When he arrived, the tension had risen as the crew sat in anticipation for what their captain had said in the Docking Bay.

"Well sir? What did you get?" Sherman asked.

"Ensign Blakroshka, set a course for these coordinates." Tom handed the paper to the ensign.

"Is this heading really gonna get us somewhere this time captain?" The ensign questioned.

"Yes ensign. Now input the coordinates." Tom ordered.

"Yes Sir." The ensign replied.

_You were right old-timer. We finally got something. Your dream is that much closer to being fulfilled. I just hope it doesn't kill us. _


	3. An Unwelcome Introduction

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 3

An Unwelcome Introduction

"It has been 5 hours since we talked to that foreigner sir. Are you sure that those coordinates that he gave you were correct?" Sherman asked impatiently.

"Very sure, Commander. Besides, he was the closest lead we've had in a long time." Tom replied.

"With all due respect sir, I spoke with several of the crew as well as the civilian population about this. The percentage of the people who still have faith in you is a very low margin. There has even been talk about mutiny aboard the ship." Sherman said.

"Mutiny?! Are you sure Sherman?"

"Very sure Captain." Sherman confirmed.

"I'll let security know about this." Tom said, and he turned to his commlink.

"Sergeant Gregory, I've just received word that there might be some uneasy travelers on this ship. Inform your men to keep a close eye on suspicious activity. Let me know the second you or your men sense trouble."

"Yes Captain." Gregory responded from the commlink.

"I do hope you know what you are doing sir." Sherman said doubtfully.

"Do you doubt me Sherman? After all that we have been through, you still doubt my judgement?"

"Maybe a little sir. I am more of a see-it-to-believe-it kind of person." Sherman admitted.

"Well, I'm sure you are going to believe it now then Sherman." Tom said confidently.

"Sir?" Sherman retorted.

"We have reached Fichina sir." Ensign Blakroshka announced.

Sherman turned his head towards the screen and looked in amazement as a planet started coming closer into view. Tom gave a confident grunt and a smile from the look of astonishment on his commander's face, then turned his head towards the screen as to get a look at Fichina.

Just then, out of nowhere, a laser shot zoomed past the port side of the ship and grazed the shielding.

"What the hell was that?!" exclaimed Sherman.

Tom's face quickly faded into a serious demeanor, realizing that the shot that had went past them had come from the planet's surface.

"We are being hailed sir. It's coming from the surface of Fichina." Lieutenant Jefferson reported.

"Display it." Tom ordered.

On the screen, a husky in a grey uniform appeared on the screen.

"This is the Fichina Outpost Vector. You are currently violating protocol 19.753-84. Identify yourselves immediately or risk the destruction of your vessels."

"This is Captain Thomas Brusker of the USS Madison. We mean you no harm. We would like to speak with General Pepper or Captain James McCloud." Tom replied.

"And how is it you have come to know such individuals?" the soldier demanded.

"We are the expedition group sent to this system by Colonel Boris Bradley. He had contacted your people and had informed General Pepper of our arrival." Tom replied.

The soldier contemplated the information that he was given. He finally gave a stern look towards the captain.

"I must speak with the general and verify this information. Standby."

The screen went dark, signaling the end of the transmission.

"Some welcome." Commander Sherman retorted.

"Stay cool boys. Boris hasn't let us down yet." Tom said.

After about 5 minutes of waiting, the husky came back onto the screen.

"Your story seems to have checked out. Proceed to the coordinates marked on the planet. The general will meet you there personally."

"Understood." Tom replied.

The screen went back to showing Fichina again, only this time, a small diamond was now hovering on the surface of the planet.

"I don't know about this sir. I think it might be a trap." Sherman suggested.

"You might be right. That is why I am going over to the Roosevelt and landing the troops first." Tom said.

"But wouldn't that agitate them sir? I mean, if they see a large military force come to the meeting place, wouldn't they shoot you thinking you were there to kill the general?"

Tom looked at Sherman with a stern look. He didn't like it, but Sherman was right. Tom was being put into a situation where he might be seen as a threat. Though Sherman had his doubts, Tom knew what to do.

"Trust me Commander, I have everything under control." Tom said confidently.

Afterwards, Tom left the Madison and boarded the Roosevelt to prepare for the coming meeting between him and General Pepper. The words that his commanding officer Boris had told him rang true in his mind. "_Study those codes Captain, and make sure to play it to them as you call them out._"

_I do hope that they listen Boris. I really do. Because at this point, we could have a war on our hands that we most surely would lose._

The Roosevelt was taken down to the surface, keeping in mind of the marked area. After touching down on the surface, the doors were opened, and two separate squadrons equipped with silent weaponry massed outside the planet. It was night, and a small snow storm had begun to blow. Tom was equipped in a white uniform, bearing the same USMC patch that his standard uniform bore. The squadrons also wore white uniforms, as to provide camouflage in the environment. Tom paced at the front end of the battalion, preparing to give the men their orders.

"Alright men, now listen up. We are about to head to the meeting place where we will be presenting ourselves to General Pepper. Now I know what you are asking yourselves, "Why is the Captain bringing along two squadrons along to a peaceful meeting?" Well, you are my support. You are the ones who will make sure that I am covered should things all go to hell.

"Now, at about 200 meters from the meeting place, we will assess the situation carefully. I expect each and every one of you to follow my orders as I give them as well as watching each other's backs. Am I understood?"

"Sir yes sir!" The battalion rang out.

"Good! Now move out!"

Tom turned around and lead the battalion in a march towards the meeting. At about 200 meters to the point, Tom held up his fist, signaling his men to halt and crouch.

"Sergeant Marcus, Sergeant Vickerol." Tom called on the commlink.

The two sergeants of the squadrons came up to meet with the captain.

"What is it sir?" Marcus responded.

"Activate your thermal and look out at around the meeting place." Tom ordered, turning his Thermal vision on.

Marcus and Vickerol did so, and noticed what the Captain was talking about. Around the edge of the point, about 15 meters in diameter, were about 20-30 soldiers, most likely Pepper's, surrounded it. They were covered by snow as to make themselves seem invisible, but they did not account for the advancement of thermal vision that the US had equipped. Tom then turned to his sergeants.

"Marcus, take Alpha squad around the left side of the point. Vickerol, take Bravo squad around the right side. I want your men to be 3 meters apart and 3 meters behind the enemy. Don't get seen. Success depends on your measurements. Don't screw this up."

"Yes sir." The both of them responded. As the 2 squads began to fan out along the circle, Tom started moving towards the meeting point. Tom then went to his commlink.

"Yankee 2-7, what is your status over?" Tom said.

"This is Yankee 2-7, we are at 300 meters from the point. Ready to provide support over." The sniper replied.

"Roger that Yankee. Remember, use the tranq darts. We don't want any blood spilled today." Tom advised.

"Affirmative. Yankee 2-7 out."

Tom was about 50 meters away when he stopped and went for his commlink again.

"Alpha, Bravo, what is your status over?" Tom said.

"Alpha is in position and standing by, over"

"This is Bravo. We are good to go. Waiting on you Cap, over."

Tom took a deep breath and started walking towards the lit area of meeting. When he had reached the point, he stopped at the line that had apparently been recently drawn there.

Tom then took out a flare gun and fired a flare into the chilled air. It shone a red glow over the ground where 3 dogs stood. As the flare faded, General Pepper emerged from the shadows, followed by two husky soldiers armed with laser assault rifles and wearing the same grey uniforms. General Pepper was in his usual red uniform with medals decorating the left side of his chest.

"You must be Captain Thomas Brusker I presume." General Pepper said.

"Yes sir. I am." Tom replied.

"What business do you have here in Lylat?" The general sternly asked.

"We have traveled 5 months from our home planet of Earth in the Solar system to reach this system. Our world has been desolated by war and tyranny that we were sent out into the depths of space to find a new home and rebuild society before the war happened."

"And who is it that sent you here?" The general puzzled.

"I was sent here by Boris Bradley, a colonel of the US marine corps and my commanding officer." Tom replied.

General Pepper looked towards his guards with a look of displeasure, then turned back to Tom with a look of distrust.

"I am having a hard time believing what you are saying Captain Brusker, but we will make sure that what you are saying is truthful when we hook you up to a lie detector. Guards, arrest this outsider and take his ship." General Pepper ordered.

The soldiers lifted their weapons, holding Tom at gunpoint, but at that moment, they fell to the ground. Yankee 2-7 had tranquilized the two of them, seeing as their Captain was in danger. At that moment, General Pepper whistled, and all at once, the circle of husky soldiers rose from the snow, weapons pointed towards Tom. Tom, having predicted this outcome, fired a second flare into the air, signaling Alpha and Bravo to emerge. Chaos ensued as both squadrons yelled at the huskies. "Put down the gun!". "Put your hands in the air, mongrel!". At once, seeing as they were the ones being surrounded, the dogs dropped their guns in surrender. Tom then drew his pistol and pointed it at General Pepper. Pepper in turn rose his hands in the air.

"I am not going to be outplayed by you General. I was promised a peaceful outcome here, yet you call for military action without analyzing the situation first. We have technology that we are willing to invest into your system, as well as humble civilians and scientists willing to work for the betterment of this system, but you need to be open to newcomers. Now do you believe me?"

"It is hard to believe a man who has me at gunpoint." General Pepper retorted.

Tom gave a huge huff of frustration and put away the gun. Then, he remembered the tape that he had been told to play.

"I have codes that Colonel Boris Bradley specifically told you in case a meeting like this occurred. He told me to play it only in the presence of you or James McCloud." Tom told Pepper.

Pepper looked at Tom disbelievingly. Tom then reached for the tape and began to play it. As it began to play, Colonel Bradley's voice spoke.

"Hello Pepper or James. It is good to see you again. Now, I know what is going on. You tested my young Captain with a game of Strategy. Yes, I know, because you told me you would do that."

General Pepper's look slowly turned from disbelief to realization.

"Now, in case that you still don't believe my Captain's words in that I sent him, I told him to memorize the codes that are on this tape and that we both established 2 Earth years ago. In Lylat years, as Beltino put it, it would be about 12 Lylat years. Now, please pay attention to my Captain, and listen carefully."

Pepper then looked towards Tom, who was confidently looking at Pepper.

"Zulu 2517.24" Bradley began. "Solar 7150.36" Tom finished.

Tom continued calling out the codes to General Pepper, each one striking Pepper with more and more understanding. When the last code had been called out, General Pepper now looked at Tom with shame in his eyes.

"Now you be good to my people Pepper or James, and make sure that my Captain is treated with the utmost respect. He is, in a way, the embodiment of me and my legacy. You take care now."

As the tape ended, Tom returned it to his back pocket. General Pepper then spoke.

"I do apologize Captain Brusker. It seems that everything that you have claimed is true and that I overreacted. Now then, if you could call off your men, I could personally escort you to the Fichina outpost and then Corneria."

Tom grabbed his commlink.

"All teams stand down. We are green on the welcome." Tom said.

"Roger that. We're coming in."

From the shadows, Alpha and Bravo teams emerged, walking alongside the defeated husky units.

"Is this all the men you used?" General Pepper asked astonished.

"Yep. Like I said General, I planned ahead." Tom replied.

"Right then, shall we head for the Fichina outpost?" General Pepper suggested.

Tom nodded and the two armies, man and dog, marched to the outpost where the banquet was to be held.


	4. The Banquet on Fichina

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 4

The Banquet on Fichina

"It's not far now. Just a few more miles and we're there." General Pepper informed the human army. The encounter that the two armies had had was still stirring in their minds, but with mixed emotions. On one hand, the humans were quite proud that they pacified an entire army of alien dogs and that their trust in the captain payed off. On the other hand, the Lylat huskies were still a little disappointed that they got outmaneuvered by a bunch of aliens, but they were also silently glad that they might potentially have another ally against the constant raids of space pirates.

Tom was tackling with some of his personal thoughts, unbeknownst to the others. _I wonder what is happening on the Madison. The thought of my men deserting me and taking the ship by force is almost unthinkable, but with what Sherman told me, I'm not sure that the security that I have staffed will be enough if they really do decide to mutiny against me._

"Are you okay Captain?" General Pepper asked Tom. Tom was immediately shaken from his personal thoughts and turned towards his host.

"Yeah. Just a little worried about the Madison is all. I've still got a lot of people in orbit waiting for me to give them the all clear."

"Ah. Concerned about your people eh? It's okay Captain. My men are keeping a close eye in your ships. They will inform me if anything goes wrong." General Pepper assured Tom.

"Very kind of you General." Tom replied.

The group marched for another 3 miles when suddenly, the snow storm started to pick up. Most of the humans had to apply snow goggles in order to fully see through the blizzard. The huskies on the other hand had been wearing shades the whole time. Most likely, they were some kind of military visor, but Tom perished the thought.

"We are here," Pepper announced after about 10 minutes. In front of the group stood a huge building that overhead looked like a cross. From ground level though, it looked like some kind of misshapen hourglass. General Pepper walked up to the door and took a keycard out from his right inner pocket from his uniform. He swiped the card, which revealed a retinal scanner. Pepper put his eyes up to the scanner. After 5 seconds, the machine responded.

"Subject: Pepper, Rory Bell. Cornerian Army General. Access Granted." At that, the door opened. General Pepper then lead the armies into the base.

Inside, the looked small, as if it were just a cargo bay. Once everyone was inside, Pepper pulled a lever, which started a lift that the army was standing on to lower. Pepper then pulled out a commlink from his front pocket.

"This is General Pepper. I have a large number of guests of whom I have invited to the banquet. We have begun our descent. Stand your men down, these men are friendly."

"Roger sir. All teams, stand down." A voice responded on the other side of the comm channel.

When the lift finished its descent, there were a number of Cornerian officials standing in two separate straight lines leading towards a door directly ahead of the army. The army of humans and dogs began to march towards the door.

"Welcome back General." One of the soldiers said. Pepper just nodded towards the soldier and continued to lead the army towards the double doors.

When the doors opened, a large banquet hall was visible. Lylatians were gathered in this particular hall, where the banquet was being held. Tom looked in amazement as a falcon walked up to him and saluted him. Tom saluted in return. The falcon then walked away to join with a fox and frog on the far-right side of the hall. Tom looked at the three of them, wondering if they were friends or something.

"I would like it if your men could stand on the stage so that we could officially welcome you to Lylat. I will give you the signal when it is time." Pepper told Tom.

"Of course." Tom replied.

Pepper then walked towards the stage and took hold of a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, might I have your attention." General Pepper said over the mic. All at once, the entire banquet hall looked towards the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce that we have some very unexpected guests with us tonight. It would seem that we have 2 things to celebrate tonight. Now, please help me officially welcome the newcomers and new allies to the Lylat Federation: Captain Thomas Brusker and his United States Marine Corps."

The entire hall erupted with applause as they made a line of which the troops would march up to the stage. Tom turned towards the stage and barked in a loud voice: "Forward march!"

At once, the hall was then filled with the sound of boots marching at a steady beat towards the stage. The troops then lined up along the stage as Tom went up to the stage and took the mic from Pepper.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. It has been five Earth months since we left our planet that was devastated by tyranny and hatred in search of a new and fresh start. It has been a difficult journey, as well as a grueling experience, but I believe that it was well worth it. I will value this alliance that the US has with the Lylat Federation, and that we will work hard towards a peaceful and prosperous future for both our people."

The hall again erupted with applause and even some of the cadets present whooped and whistled at their newfound allies. When the speech had been finished, General Pepper turned towards Tom.

"I invite your soldiers to enjoy your time here at the banquet. As for you, I would like to introduce you to some very special friends of mine." General Pepper told Tom.

Tom nodded and ordered his men to enjoy their time here. He then followed General Pepper to a large table where 3 Lylatians were having a conversation. When Pepper approached them, they immediately stopped talking and greeted their friend.

Tom was intrigued to see that a monkey, a fox, and a rabbit would be conversing together. At that moment, Tom heard his name mentioned.

"Allow me to introduce the leader of our newest ally, Captain Thomas Brusker of the US Marines." Tom gave a salute towards the 3 of them. They saluted him back with a look of honor. The rabbit was the first to speak after the introduction.

"I am Peppy Hare. Pleasure to meet you Captain."

"The pleasure is mine Peppy." Tom replied.

"I am Andross, the chief scientist for Corneria." The monkey said.

"A pleasure to meet you Andross." Tom replied.

"And I am James. Perhaps Boris told you about me." The fox spoke.

"Indeed, he did. He said that you were one of Lylat's best star pilots." Tom shook James's hand with respect for this man.

"Might I ask where he is?" James asked.

"I am afraid he stayed behind on Earth. Said that this was my undertaking and not his. He was a good man." Tom said sadly.

"Damn. I was hoping I could have sorted things out." James exclaimed.

Tom then turned his attention towards Andross.

"So, what is it that you specialize in Andross?" Tom asked.

"I specialize in Bio-engineering. Basically, I biologically make things better for Lylat, Corneria specifically. Climate control, cures for diseases, I am the brains behind it all." Andross boasted.

"Now don't go spreading all that pride on us Andross. You know that it is impolite to brag about your profession." Peppy said.

"It matters not as long as I am doing something productive. Unlike you and James, making plans for this Star Fox team you call." Andross retorted.

"Why you…" Peppy began.

"Easy Peppy." James said. "Andross can say whatever he wants. He's stuck in a lab and we're able to fly through the stars."

"I guess you are right James." Peppy said.

James then turned his attention towards Tom. "So, you know how to use a proper firearm?" James said.

"Of course." Tom said patting his pistol.

"I'd like to see you try to outgun me." James challenged.

"What a great idea James." Pepper interjected.

"I don't know. I don't want to kill any of you. Especially when our alliance had just begun." Tom said.

"Not to worry. We've got special laser pistols that were made specifically for dueling." Peppy said.

"So how about it, Captain. You think you got the guts and the skill to take me down?" James challenged again.

"Alright then. I warn you though, I was made Captain for a reason." Tom accepted.

Pepper then walked over to the stage and took the mic of the stand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a duel!" Pepper announced. At once, the hall rang out with cheers as Pepper pushed a button that transformed the stage into a long strip. Both Tom and James then walked up to the stage and stood face-to-face in the center. Pepper then handed each of them a laser pistol. The technicians then analyzed the guns to ensure that they were working properly and that they were not tampered with. After a minute, the pistols were handed back to their corresponding owners. The two put their backs up against each other and walked 10 paces from each other, then turned to face each other.

"You can do it Dad." A fox cadet hollered. James looked over and nodded towards his son, then turned his head back towards his opponent.

For at least 30 seconds, the two of them stared at each other. Then, James pulled his pistol. As he was going for the trigger however, he started feeling a shock going through his entire body. He fell to the ground back first as the crowd moaned disappointingly and shouting gleefully at the same time. When James lifted his head, he saw that Tom had fired a single shot through James's head. Tom then spun the gun around and returned it to the holster.

"Damn good shot there, Captain. I think you would definitely fit in with the Cornerian Army." James said defeated. Tom walked over and gave James a hand.

"Maybe, but I do like to do things my way." Tom replied.

Just then, Tom's commlink started to sound. Something was going on. Probably Sherman checking in to see if there was an all-clear. Tom answered the commlink. On the other end, Tom heard gunfire.

"Sir? Sir are you there?" The voice belonged to Sherman.

"Sherman? What the hell is going on?" Tom asked.

"It's the crew sir. They've just took over the Madison sir. I'm held up in your quarters. I think it was Christoff sir. He must've started it."

"I'm on my way. Stay in the quarters until I sort this out." Tom ordered.

"I'm not sure how… Oh sh…!"

"Commander? Sherman?!" Tom yelled.

"Sounds like you got a mutiny to handle." James said bleakly.

"Yep. Seems the mutineers didn't heed my warning. I need to take back that ship. There were about 40,000 civilians on that ship." Tom said.

"Don't worry. I'll help you sort this out" James decided.


	5. The Battle for the Madison

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 5

The Battle for the Madison

As Tom left the banquet, the mixed thoughts of killing each and every one of the mutineers or arresting them all swam through his mind. As he reached the door, Sergeant Marcus called out to him.

"Sir. Is it true? There is a mutiny occurring on the Madison?" he asked as he reached his captain.

"I am afraid so Sergeant. Get Sergeant Vickerol and round up the troops. Tell them to meet me at the Roosevelt in 30 minutes. We're going to take back the Madison." Tom ordered.

"Yes sir." Marcus replied.

As Tom reached the lift, James pulled the lever, starting the ascent. There was a silence that lasted almost the entire ascent, making the Captain uncomfortable to be standing in silence with a person that he had just met. _James must be very trusting. _Tom thought. _To risk his own life to ensure the safety of complete strangers is noble, yet I can't help but think it foolish to offer help to someone who could just well be hiding his true intentions. I sure wouldn't immediately offer assistance without assessing the situation first, but James seems different. Maybe I can learn a thing or two from him. _

"Are you okay Tom?" James said, breaking the silence.

"Huh? Yeah. Listen. Thanks for offering to help, but I don't think I can accept it so easily." Tom admitted.  
"Why do you say that?" James questioned.

"Well, I just came from a waring planet, where people were separated by differences in religion, ethnics, gender identification, nationality, political stance. These differences unfortunately led to the destruction of Earth, or as far as I know. The point is, I wouldn't be so open to helping complete strangers. Especially when they have people who just mutinied against their own commanding officers while he was away ensuring that they would finally get what they came for: hope of a better future."

"Ah. I see. You're paranoid." James guessed.

"Well I was trained to be. That is until I met Boris. He taught me that not every new person I meet should be considered a threat. That I should be open to friendship and not to hostility. It was because he taught me so much that I was even picked to lead the expedition. Hell, I don't even think I would be on this voyage if not for him. I'd probably be stuck in a bunker waiting for the impending doom to befall the Earth."

"Sounds like Boris knew who was succeeding him." James said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tom sighed.

When the lift reached the top of the base, James turned to Tom and put his hand out.

"Let's go save your people then, yeah?"

"Right." Tom said as he shook James's hand.

When Tom and James had reached the Roosevelt, one of the soldiers came out to meet them.

"Captain, I have something to tell you sir. Chief Gregory would like to speak with you. He is in the infirmary sir." The soldier said.

"Thank you Private. I'll see him immediately." Tom dismissed the soldier.

"Who is this Gregory Tom? Is he one of your soldiers?" James asked as they walked down a corridor to the infirmary.

"He is my security chief on the Madison. Something must have seriously gone wrong up there for him to be here." Tom said, thinking of what had truly happened aboard the ship. When they had reached the infirmary, Gregory was being treated for a gunshot wound to his right shoulder. Gregory looked left towards the door and caught Tom's eye.

"Captain. I'm sorry sir. I couldn't fend them off..." he began.

"Easy Gregory." Tom said soothingly. "Tell me. What happened?"

"There was a fight between one of the ensigns and Lieutenant Jefferson sir. It seemed the ensign was drunk and brandishing his weapon, saying that Jefferson was a fool to follow you sir. He said that you had abandoned us and that it were better off if we turned around and went home. Jefferson told the ensign to put away the gun, but he just continued to shout at him, saying that Jefferson was a fool to follow you. Jefferson started shouting at the ensign telling him to put down the gun, but it was then that the ensign shot Jefferson in the head. I pulled my weapon and shot the ensign, arresting him for murder. I called in the rest of the security team to get Jefferson, but all I head was gunfire and their screams. I decided to call a curfew for the civilians and to transport the ensign to the brig, but I got jumped by 3 more of the crew. They fired at me, killing their ensign buddy. I pulled my gun and killed 2 of them, but the third one got me in the shoulder before I killed him too. Then, I heard Christoff over the mic, saying that the ship was under his control. I hopped into an escape pod and jettisoned to the Roosevelt."

"Were there any survivors? Any of the security detail still alive?" Tom asked urgently.

"Not that I know of sir. I assume they all might be dead from the mutineers." Gregory said.

"Okay. I am about to give a debrief of the operation. I need you ready to give the info to Alpha squadron ASAP."

"Yes sir. I'll be there." Gregory said.

After the talk in the infirmary, James had a few questions on his mind and turned to Tom for some answers.  
"Tom, who is this Christoff?" James asked him.

"Christoff is a civilian and a superstitious nut. Calls himself a psychic, saying that he gets visions from the heavens. Apparently one of his last so called "prophecies" was that we were to be killed over a planet of ice by hostile aliens. Guy is crazy though. About 3 months in, he started a small riot injuring about 100 civilians and 20 security staff. Bastard got locked up for only a month afterwards. Some of the guards told me that he had been having visions saying that he was supposed to be the one to lead the people to a new world, not me. Guess he finally snapped and convinced a good portion of the crew to mutiny against me. He'll pay for what he has done."

When the troops had been assembled in the briefing room of the Roosevelt, Tom began the debrief.

"All right men. Listen up! What we have here is a hostile takeover of the USS Madison. I will be leading a covert op with Alpha squadron to infiltrate and retake the Madison from the mutineers. Now from the information that Sherman provided us before we lost communication suggests that the local nutjob Christoff O'Reilly is the leader of this so-called uprising against us. Chief Gregory will fill in the blanks as far as what to expect."

Gregory then stepped forward, sporting a bandaged right shoulder from the gunshot.

"Christoff is holding himself on the bridge of the ship. No doubt he is trying to find out how to activate the thruster controls. I know for a fact that Blakroshka would not give anything to that weirdo, so he is most likely getting one of his faithful ensigns to do it. Now from the biometric scans I did before jettisoning from the ship, I counted at least 100 to 150 mutineers on the ship, so expect moderate resistance."

"Thank you, Gregory. All right Alpha Squadron, here are your orders. I want you to land a transport craft into docking bay 1 and create a distraction. Me and James will sneak into the ship via a secret hatch that I installed directly into my quarters and get access to the bridge. Make sure that you kill every one of those bastards. They were warned of what I did to mutineers and they did not listen. Now they will pay for crossing me. Dismissed!"

Alpha Squadron boarded a huge landing craft that would carry 100 men while Tom and James boarded a small aircraft that James installed a cloaking device to so as to not be detected by Christoff and his men. As both ships exited the atmosphere, Tom activated the cloaking device while the troop transport continued on. At that moment, the Madison's weapons systems began to fire at the transport. The ship eventually entered the docking bay after inputting the correct codes to lower the shield. As the ship began unloading Alpha Squadron, heavy fighting began to ensue. Tom and James continued to cruise towards the bridge. As they neared Tom's quarters, Tom entered he code to open the docking port for Tom's ship. After they docked, James and Tom ran directly up against the wall near the door to the bridge. They could just make out a conversation that was occurring.

"What is the status report on the battle ensign?" Christoff ordered.

"Reports are saying that our men are taking heavy losses." The ensign replied.

"Damn. What of Captain Brusker. Is he among them?" Christoff asked.

"No sir." The ensign reported.

Christoff was then heard walking over to the captain's chair. It was then that Sherman spoke.

"Seems like Tom has other plans than to fight a battle he knows his men will win. You'll pay dearly for what you did Christoff. I did warn you, didn't I?"

It was then that a gunshot rang out followed by Sherman screaming in agony. Another gunshot went off followed by more of Sherman's painful screams.

"We'll see how much you antagonize me further while you contemplate on the pain in both your legs." Christoff mocked.

"This is bad. If we don't do it now, Sherman is gonna die." Tom told James.

James snuck something under the door and activated his wrist watch. It transformed into some kind of monitor showing the positions of every hostile in the room and Sherman profusely bleeding in the chair.

"Put these on." James said as he handed Tom a pair of shades. "They're hostile sensors. They will let you know who is good and who isn't." James explained. Tom put them on, activating them.

"Right. On my count, we'll breach the door and take out the hostiles." James said.

"Okay." Tom agreed.

"Ready? One, Two…"

At that moment, Tom and James breached the door, firing at any hostiles that showed up on the sensors. Tom took out the two guys on the console who drew a gun at him while James killed 3 guys behind the captain's chair. All that was left was Christoff and Sherman. Both men pointed their guns towards Christoff who stood there in shock and anger.

"Get down on your knees and show me your hands." Tom ordered.

"Captain." Sherman said weakly.

Christoff looked at Tom with a look of disdain.

"Well done Captain." Christoff mocked him. "I suppose you are going to shoot me now? Well go ahead and do it then."

"I said get down on the ground Christoff." Tom ordered again, inching closer to Christoff. Christoff continued to stand in the center of the bridge, mocking Tom about how Tom shouldn't have led the expedition and how he should have. With no choice left, Christoff pulled a gun from his back pocket and promptly aimed it at Tom. Tom pulled the trigger, but he wasn't the only one to fire. It seemed that James, on instinct, had also fired at Christoff, killing him. At that point, Tom returned the gun to his holster and went for his commlink.

"Alpha Squadron, what's your status over?"

"This is Alpha. All hostiles eliminated. We've arrested a few others who surrendered. We found Blakroshka and Murdock in the brig. They are alive sir, but just barely. We are getting medics to treat the gunshot wounds." Marcus reported.

"Good work Marcus. Sherman is alive, but his legs have been shot. I need a medical team up to the bridge to treat him." Tom ordered.

"Yes sir." Marcus acknowledged.

"Heh. Looks like I'm gonna make it sir." Sherman said weakly.

"Yep. I'd say you're eligible for an early retirement after you're patched up Sherman." Tom said.

"Roger that." Sherman laughed. Tom then turned towards James.

"Thanks James. For everything that you did for me and the US people." Tom said.

"Think nothing of it. We're allies. Allies help each other out. Now, let's get you guys to your new home."

Tom then sat down at the engineering station and opened a channel to the Roosevelt.

"This is Captain Thomas Brusker to the Roosevelt."

"Roosevelt here." A soldier responded.

"We're moving out. Prep for travel and follow the Lincoln to Corneria." Tom ordered.

"Yes sir. We'll be airborne in about 3 minutes sir." The soldier said.

"Roger that. Over and out."

Tom then contacted the Lincoln.

"Lincoln this is Madison. We're moving out to Corneria. Roosevelt is prepping for space travel. Prep for travel and be ready in about 3 minutes."

"Roger that Madison. Good to have you back sir." The pilot responded.

"Let's go home." James said.


	6. The End of the Journey

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 6

The End of the Journey

Tom sat down in the commander's chair and heaved a great sigh. From the elevator, 10 individuals exited: 5 crew members who would operate the ship and 5 medics who transported Sherman from the chair and took the emergency lift leading straight to the infirmary. The ensigns sat down in their corresponding stations while James sat down in the third chair on the opposite side of the Captain's chair. Clean up crews as well started coming in from the lift now, removing the corpses of Christoff and his men off the bridge to be properly disposed of when they reached Corneria. At that point, a transmission popped up on the screen.

"Incoming message sir." The ensign reported.

"Bring it up." Tom replied.

General Pepper appeared on the screen, looking quite flustered.

"Captain Brusker. Why are you back on your ship and not enjoying the banquet? And why is James with you?" Pepper asked sternly. James got up from his chair and walked into the center of the room.

"Forgive me General, but I would say that your concern for me should not be the main subject right now. What should be the concern is that Tom bravely thwarted a mutiny among his own people, saving the lives of his civilians who will become great contributors to society sir. I just volunteered to assist him in taking back his ship and dispatching the mutineers."

"And why would you go and do that James? Why would you risk your own life for complete foreigners?" Pepper questioned again. _ Pepper is really starting to bug me a bit. _Tom thought. _But then again, I asked myself the same question_.

"We of the Lylat Federation are dedicated to helping our people, which includes foreign allies. Tom prevented a mutiny from escalating any further than it did so that he could get a future for his people and ours. In turn, as allies to them, we must offer our services when and where they are needed."

"An impressive speech James. That is why you were top class in politics." Pepper said.

"Thank you, sir." James replied.

"Now then, shall we get our new allies to Corneria?" Pepper suggested.

"That is a good idea General." James agreed.

The transmission ended and James sat back down in his chair. The ships then signaled to Tom that they were ready for space travel. Tom then stood up from his chair.

"Ensign, enter these coordinates and signal the fleet. We're going to Corneria." Tom ordered.

"Yes sir." She replied. The ships then entered lightspeed.

"All ships. Report in!" Tom said.

"Roosevelt here. Ship is looking stable and we're right behind you sir." The pilot reported.

"Lincoln reporting sir. All systems are green here and all personnel accounted for." The other pilot responded.

"I am pretty impressed with your skills in leadership Tom." James said. Tom turned his head over to look at his new ally.

"I heard what happened at the rally point. General Pepper was a little steamed to have been outmaneuvered by outsiders, in his own words."

"It was simple attention to detail and planning James. I'm pretty sure that you would've done something similar if you were in my position." Tom replied.

"True" James agreed. "But, if I am being honest, our infantry division isn't very efficient. They're mostly military police on Corneria, able to fend off against riots and small pirate raids. The army that you brought made us realize just how much you can contribute to the betterment of Corneria and all of Lylat."

"And what of your Space Navy? Are they adequate?" Tom asked.

"More or less. The best pilots Corneria has to offer are stationed on those vessels as fighter support, so yeah. I'd say that it's the only true line of defense against any threat. And even then, we haven't been able to stop raids from pirates like Wolf."

"Wolf?" Tom puzzled as he sat back down in his chair.

"Yes. He is an infamous space pirate who's been on the run for 3 years now. Can't count how many brave and foolish people have died at his hands. Many believe that he'll soon get his just deserve."

"And that would be how?" Tom asked.

"Many believe that it will end with a noose around his neck. Others say that his end will be in a fiery explosion in his ship. And others still say that he might be shot from the ground where he is most vulnerable."

"And what do you think James?" Tom asked.

"What I think is that Wolf will someday be open to new options. He's been very elusive, but what I think is that no one can really say what will happen, only that when it does, he won't be able to truly escape retribution for his crimes." James said.

Tom sat back and thought of this Wolf person a bit more. _If he truly is as skilled as they say he is, and that what James said about him being open to new options, maybe, just maybe._

"Sir, we're coming up on Corneria now." The helmsman reported.

"Signal the fleet to drop out of light speed." Tom ordered.

All at once, the stars began to appear rapidly, one after another. Then, a big blue and green planet appeared right in front of the Madison. Tom stood up in amazement at the sight of such a planet. It looked a lot like Earth, but the continents were very oddly shaped, unlike Earth's.

"Welcome home Captain." James said. Tom looked back at his friend.

"Thank you, James." Tom said with a smile.

At that point, a transmission was brought up on the screen.

"Unidentified vessel, this is the Corneria City Outpost Omega 7-5. Lower your shields and state your business here."

"This is James McCloud of Star Fox. These people are allies to the Lylat Federation and mean no harm. General Pepper must have informed you of our arrival." James spoke, rising from his own chair.

"The General has not returned yet. If you truly are the leader of Star Fox, enter the clearance codes then." The soldier responded. James stepped up to the console and entered in the codes. The soldier looked down at his console to see if the codes were correct. He then walked off screen to talk to someone. When he returned, the serious demeanor he wore was a little less strained.

"The codes check out. Your ships may proceed to Hangar Bay 5 through 7. Our attendants will assist you with anything that you require."

The transmission ended as Tom gave out a long sigh of relief. Sitting back down in his chair, Tom gazed at the screen as the planet moved closer and closer. It then transformed into a white background. Flames started to appear along the sides of the ship as it descended further and further through the planet's atmosphere. Finally, when the clouds cleared, a giant city came into view: Corneria City. The buildings rose 20-30 stories high into the air, almost to where if the ship flew any lower, the spires would scratch the hull of the ship.

"Steady as she goes Ensign." Tom said. "Yes Captain." The ensign replied.

Eventually, they reached a large building that looked like a huge pyramid. Many ships were coming and going from the structure.

"That is the military HQ for Corneria. It is also the central government building for the Lylat Federation." James said.

Tom scanned the area for Hangar Bay 5. When he found it, he stood up once more and turned to the Ensign.

"Ensign, begin docking sequence."

"Yes sir." The ensign responded.

As the ship entered the docking bay, several metal cords began to shoot out from the side walls of the room. They attached themselves perfectly into the docking latches that were cleverly installed into the ship. _Boris must have accounted for this. Clever bastard. _ When the ship had finally landed Tom stood up and headed for the elevator. James quickly followed behind. When they reached the main deploy bay, the doors began to open. Right at the edge of the hangar, a very formal dog in black and yellow robes stood with four guard dogs in grey uniforms.

"Grey hounds." James told Tom. Tom just stared at the important looking individual. James then walked ahead of Tom.

"Come on Captain." James said. "There is someone very important that I would like you to meet."

When they had reached the edge of the hangar where the robed dog stood, the guards rigidly stood as they saluted James. The robed figure gave a small bow, welcoming the new guest.

"Welcome to Corneria Captain." The robed dog said. "My name is Bernard Saint Fran. I am the governor and the imperial ruler of the Lylat Federation. It is an honor to welcome you to our system."

Tom then respectfully bowed towards the governor.

"It is an honor to stand in the presence of a dog with such respect and power." Tom replied.

"Please, do not act so respectfully towards me. This is just an elective position, but the people here seem to enjoy me being their governor. Just call me Bernard."

Tom straightened himself up and turned towards James.

"He is a bit of a laid-back governor, but he is a pretty good person. He has done several things to better the Federation. Technical advancements within the civilian population, among the military, and even established rights for other alien races within the Federation." James explained. Tom seemed to have a lot of respect for this dog. He kinda reminded him of Boris, treating him as a friend and not as a soldier. Tom then turned back to Bernard.

"Okay then Boris. There are a few things that we need to establish before we officially join the Federation." Tom said firmly. The smile became a little rigid of Bernard's face, but he relaxed after a couple seconds.

"Of course, Captain. Come, let us go to the conference room. I will send my attendants to assist your civilian population as well as your military and scientific populations."

Tom followed Bernard into a conference room that looked almost as if it could be a colosseum. The room was a circle, about 200 feet in diameter. It rose 3 stories, with seats on the second and third floors about 15 feet separating the second with the floor and 15 feet from the second and third floors. In the center of the room stood a table stretching out 50 feet in either direction from the center of the room. At one end, there was a piece of paper that looked like an important document, like a treaty. Bernard sat at the edge of the table in front of the document while James and Tom sat down on either side of Bernard.

"Right then, what conditions are you going to declare?" Bernard turned to Tom, now with a serious demeanor on his face.

"First of all, governor, we would like to have a personal space for our own. While it will be sufficient to stay here on Corneria, we would like to establish a personal colony some time in the future. A new Earth as it may."

"I cannot guarantee that Captain. Currently, we do not have any sort of planet at present. And of course, we are not just going to give you a planet. We don't just do that. You would have to prove that your race is self-sufficient and has personal advancements in technology. Something that you an offer to make our Federation better." Bernard said.

"We have developed some higher advancements in technology. In fact, we managed to turn small atoms into huge weapons. We have managed to reproduce limbs just from a single strand of DNA, raising our medical capabilities higher than ever. And as James McCloud has mentioned to me earlier today, the military capacity of the Federation is not exactly up to par."

A dark look overcame Bernard. "You mean to tell me that you think of us to be insignificant?!"

"Not at all governor. All I am saying is that we can provide you with advanced military tactics and divisions. As you only have a space navy and a local police force, we can provide you the ways to train armies, marines, even SEALs. We have practices that humans have used for countless generations. I believe that we can work together to improve the security of the Federation."

Bernard's face went from anger to thoughtfulness. Finally, he turned back to Tom.

"You truly believe that an army is what we militarily need?" he asked.

"Indeed. For example, my men completely outmaneuvered your forces on Fichina. If you have read the report, we managed to use the environment to our advantage. This tactic can be used to silently eliminate enemies and hostile threats all over the system." Tom explained.

"All right then. If we do manage to find a planet that is very similar to Corneria, you will indeed be the first to know. And in return you provide us with the training of an army as well as your military expertise." Bernard said, now slightly smiling again.

"Yes sir. Thank you. Secondly, we request that our people have an equal say in the government of the Federation. Executive, judicial, every right that is given to every Federation citizen."

"A given, Tom." Bernard said.

"Ok then. Thirdly and finally, we request that while we under the laws of the Federation, we are able to set fair and just laws on our own planet. Ones that give New Earth an assured personal say in how the Federation should be run. That means that we elect a smaller governor who can assist you in assuring that New Earth honors our alliance and lends assistance where it is needed."

"Sounds a little tricky. Is this how your people ran your government back on your Earth?" Bernard asked.

"Yes. But the only reason that we had to leave was due to internal struggles for planetary power. This way, we will be ruled by a system-elected ruler while New Earth is internally ruled by a planet-elected official." Tom said.

"I see. I would still have power, but the planetary governor keeps the peace within its own borders. Brilliant!" Bernard shouted with glee within the conference room. Some of the guards looked towards his way and he felt a little sheepish but remained happy.

"Your conditions Captain seem very efficient, and as it worked back on your planet, so shall it work for this system. Now all you need to do is sign here and your conditions will be put into effect, officially adding the human race to the populace of the Lylat Federation."

Bernard slid the document over to Tom and handed him a pen. Tom read through the document twice over then provided his signature to seal the contract. Bernard then signed his own signature onto the document and shook hands with Captain Brusker. "Captain, welcome officially to the Lylat Federation."

The document would soon be known as the "New Earth Constitution" which was officially added to the "Lylat Federation Constitution" in the year 25 B.L.W. Several Lylat years passed and the human populations of the U.S. began spreading out across the system, many of which were stationed as soldiers among the outposts and bases of the Lylat System. Other became explorers, searching for an uninhabited world where they could reestablish the world that they once knew. Captain Thomas Brusker became a respected officer of the Cornerian Army, participating in police raids of known crime syndicates all around the system and winning countless battles against space pirates, racking up a total of 352 confirmed kills. Life could not have been better for the humans now living in Lylat, but Tom would soon find out that peace can never truly be gained, especially within the known borders of the Lylat System and its capital of Corneria.

A little note from the author: Hey guys. I do apologize for the extremely late upload. It's been about a solid month since I posted the last chapter but I had a ton of other things to do over the spring, like college and such. I will try to be on a bit of a tighter schedule in uploading chapters, but thank you for those who have been patient with me and are currently enjoying the series so far.


	7. The Fall of a Mad Scientist

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 7

The Fall of a Mad Scientist

The year is now 10 B.L.W., and crime had been higher than ever. Times were getting harder and crime began to skyrocket throughout the entire system. This kept Capt. Thomas full of work, as he worked for the Cornerian military as primary field commander of the entire Cornerian army. Within 5 years after First Arrival, Tom had soon become the official Human Council Member among the Judicial system due to his just decisions in his time in the Military Police. Tom still continued working for the military, balancing both duties well. While in the force, Tom would spend countless days tracking down drug cartels and pirate gangs that would prey on the less fortunate populations of the system. He would usually be plotting points on planets with known criminal locations, participating in raids upon space pirate bases, or sticking to the control room with General Pepper directing his forces from there. The human population, due to the different effects of the sun Solar, had grown over the past 15 Lylat years and currently taken up in positions as military police keeping the peace, officers at various Cornerian Army outposts scattered across the system, or as explorers searching for a planet that they could call New Earth. James had officially become very close friends with Tom, usually assisting Tom in his duties. James had soon introduced Tom to his son Fox, who became quick friends with Tom in the later years after the First Arrival. Fox was still attending the Cornerian Flight Academy, which took up a lot of time in Fox's life, leaving very little social time which was spent with Tom and Fox. But as these good things were occurring, darkness crept within the very Earth itself. Strange occurrences started appearing around Corneria as epidemics began to wipe out the civilian populations of Corneria, both native and human. Plants were also starting to die in great masses, which raised the Council's awareness of the situation.

At around 7:00pm Corneria Time, the Council had called for an emergency meeting. Tom had rushed to the Military HQ around 7:15, having received the notice when he returned home. Tom entered the same conference room that 15 Lylat years ago he and governor Bernard had signed the New Earth Constitution. At the far end sat Bernard, General Pepper, and newly appointed council member Cougar Romaro circled around a smaller circular table, making the room much bigger than it actually was. As Tom entered, the council quickly turned their heads towards Tom.

"Ah Tom. Glad you could make it. I do hope I am not disturbing you from your current assignment." Bernard greeted.

"Not at all Bernard. I was just finishing up plotting one of Wolf's last known weapon stashes." Tom replied.

"Very good sir. Come, sit down please." Bernard gestured towards a seat at the empty spot at the table. Tom sat down and turned towards Cougar.

"I don't believe we have officially met. Captain Thomas Brusker: Field Commander of the Cornerian Army." Tom reached out his hand offering a handshake. Cougar respectfully extended his right paw and shook hands with Tom.

"Cougar Romaro: Chief Technical Officer of Corneria."

"All right. Enough with the introductions." Pepper said. "Let's get down to why you both are here." He looked towards Bernard, who nodded in acknowledgement and stood up to address the other two.

"The epidemic that has swept across the planet has reached to a point that the planet has turned into a wasteland of near extinction. I have had our science and tech teams working tirelessly looking for a source to this virus. The medical teams say that it is nothing but a common virus that had been almost completely wiped out. However, this did not seem to solve anything. We then turned to options that are a little more convoluted. Cougar here says that he has found something and due to his accomplishments, had been officially elected as Tech Council Member. Cougar, if you could inform our friends here of your findings."

Bernard sat down as Cougar stood up. Cougar then snapped his claws to a grey hound, who swiftly brought over a small folder containing notes and results from recent studies.

"We have officially found the cause of these occurrences. The viruses are common and practically harmless, but only at the standard size. However, we have officially discovered that they are being genetically altered at the microlevel, resulting in rapid DNA replication making them bigger and more efficient in taking over the host's cell. In lament's terms, there are microwaves causing the rapid growth of these common viruses resulting in their extensive size."

Tom sat back in his chair looking grim. Had this been an attempt back at him for all the good that he had done for these people? Pepper noticed Tom's face and coughed to get his attention.

"Is there something that you want to say Captain?" Pepper asked.

"No. I was just thinking that this could be something to get back at me for my contribution to this government." Tom said.

"Well, I can confirm that whatever it is, these microwaves have been traced back to its source: an antenna on top of a building registered as Andross's old laboratory." Cougar stated.

"Did you say Andross?!" Pepper was the one who exclaimed this. His face now wore an appalled look.

"I'm afraid so, General." Cougar said. "It could be him or it could be someone else who had managed to gain access to the building."

General Pepper's face turned from appall to pure controlled rage.

"Ever since I fired him from his position of Chief of Biological Science for inhumane experimentation, he's been threatening me for years. Now it seems he might have finally snapped. Tom, as you are Field Commander, I am tasking you with taking 3 squadrons of the Corneria Military Police, breaching the lab and arresting whoever is causing these radio waves. I have complete faith that you will accomplish this task."

"Yes General. I shall assemble the force as soon as the meeting has been adjourned." Tom said.

"Excellent." Bernard said. "I adjourn this meeting with my hopes that Tom will bring this criminal to justice."

Tom had left the room in a rush to assemble his troops and to prepare his equipment for the breach. He met his force consisting of Alpha, Delta, and Omega squadrons in the briefing room at 8:00pm. Tom was wearing his black uniform and black baseball cap. A visor was folded up nicely on the left side of his head with a corresponding earpiece. The left sleeve had patches that read "Corneria, New Earth Sector". A blaster pistol was holstered over on his left side and an assault rifle was slung over his shoulder. Tom stepped up to the console and pushed a button, switching the planet hologram to a large building in the heart of the scientific sector of Corneria City.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have been selected to partake in one of the most vital raids of this century. Your actions tonight will decide the fate of Corneria. You are looking at the laboratory of the once chief of biological science Andross Oikonny, or currently known as just Andross. This building is the source of the microwaves that are causing these viruses to spread, killing both plants and people alike. Our assignment is to breach the facility and arrest any complying criminals. Should we encounter any hostile resistance, we have been given the go ahead to open fire on any armed personnel if and only if we are fired upon first. Our medical teams have reported that they have developed an antivirus that will instantly kill the viruses and restore Corneria to its proper glory. Now the schematics that have been provided to us by our chief of technology Cougar Romaro indicate that there is an underground section of the building where the radio waves are being broadcasted. We arrest the criminal transmitting these waves, we destroy the broadcasting system, the medical teams deploy the antivirus, we kill the viruses, the planet is saved. Now you all have your objectives, carry them out. Corneria depends on it. Am I understood?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Good. Wheels up at 2200 hours. Gear up!"

The teams arrived at the target building at 10:05pm, having taken the hover choppers. Alpha Team readied up at the door while Delta and Omega teams stationed themselves around the opposite sides of the building.

"Teams, check in." Tom ordered.

"Delta standing by." A cop said.

"Omega standing by." Another reported.

"Medical Team Zulu on standby in the chopper." The chief medic reported.

"Alpha is ready. Breach on my mark." Tom said. "3, 2, 1, MARK!"

Alpha Team breached the door with Delta and Omega teams simultaneously breaching.

"Move up." Tom said.

Alpha swept across the lobby, checking every corner and doorway. Delta had no luck finding anything and neither did Omega.

"Nothing here sir." The sergeant reported.

"Delta, Omega, check in." Tom radioed.

"Delta here, we got nothing."

"Omega here, negative."

Tom activated his visor to see of they were missing something. Scanning across, Tom noticed a hidden door in the wall at the far end of the hallway. He turned back to his radio.

"Delta, Omega, we found the entrance to the underground. I'm setting a beacon for the rendezvous point. I need both squads to regroup at this position and keep it locked down for Medical Team Zulu."

"Roger that." Both squad leaders acknowledged.

"Zulu." Tom continued. "I need you to deploy and stand by in the lobby. Delta and Omega will be on guard duty over you. Once we have given the all clear downstairs, it will then be your job to get down here and deploy that antivirus."

"Acknowledged Alpha. Deploying now."

Tom turned to Alpha squad. "Activate your visors and stay alert. We don't know what kind of dangers we might encounter down there."

Alpha squad activated their visors and stacked up at the door just as Delta and Omega reached the point. Tom began to cut through the door with a blowtorch, removing the locks on the door and prying the door open.

"Prep cables." Tom ordered. "We rappel down there in teams of 5. Keep close together and stay alert."

Tom then took out a grappling hook, being joined by 4 other officers. Aiming for the opposite wall, the five of them fired their hooks jumped into the elevator shaft, rappelling themselves down into the underground. When they hit the ceiling of an elevator, Tom took out his blowtorch once again and cut a hole into it. Jumping into the car, Tom then began to cut open the doors. The doors opened revealing a long hallway leading to a set of double doors, most likely where the transmissions' origin were. The five men began to walk out into the hallway, but Tom stopped abruptly when he noticed a very thin laser. He suddenly realized what it was.

"Stop!" Tom screamed, but it was too late. One of the men looked back and stepped into the laser, triggering an alarm and deploying automated turrets. A voice began to sound through the hallway.

"Unauthorized personnel detected. Initiating countermeasures."

At that moment, the guns began firing upon the 4 members of Tom's team. The officers turned and ran but were brutally gunned down. Tom managed to jump back into the elevator and avoid the laser fire. He then turned to his commlink.

"All teams hold your position. I repeat, hold your position. I am taking heavy fire from automated turret defenses. Advise you take cover. I am deploying an EMP grenade. It will disable the laser blasters, but your firearms will still be operational. Standby for EMP."

Tom took out a grenade from his right pocket and pulled the pin. He then rolled it across the floor into the hallway. "EMP is armed. Everybody brace yourselves!"

The EMP went off a few seconds after Tom said those words. A blue electrical bubble began to expand out from the grenade, disabling the laser defense. When it had ended, Tom shouted up through the hole.

"You guys okay up there?"

"Affirmative sir. No turrets were deployed up here. What happened down there?" Delta leader shouted.

Tom then looked down into the hall. There was nothing but fried turrets and the corpses of 4 of his team. Tom grew angry about their losses but kept his mind on the mission. He then turned back towards the hole in the ceiling.

"Turrets are fried, but we've sustained 4 casualties. Looks clear." Tom shouted.

Tom could hear intense swearing from some of the officers on the upper floor but were quickly hushed by Delta Leader.

"I'll send some of Zulu to take care of them as well as the rest of Alpha. You go on ahead and secure the criminal." The Delta Leader shouted back.

Tom then pulled out his 9mm and walked down the hall. He stepped over the corpses of his teammates and stacked up at the door. Zulu team was now starting to come down the rappel with forces from Alpha. Tom then barged through the door, aiming his pistol at a monkey at a console.

"Corneria Police. Put your hands where I can see them." Tom ordered. The monkey didn't seem to respond. Tom fired a shot from his pistol to a point that was an inch from the left side of his head. "I said put your hands where I can see them ape, I ain't screwing around."

The monkey slowly lifted his hands up and Tom swiftly advanced. More Alpha troops with M4A1 assault rifles began to circle him, leaving an open space for Tom. Tom reached for his handcuffs as the monkey turned facing Tom. Tom stopped for a quick moment to look at the monkey.

"Andross. Why am I not surprised!" Tom said as he forcefully put the handcuffs on Andross. Tom then turned to the Chief Medic. "Get the antivirus waves ready." The medic went to the console and began programming the radio tower to kill the viruses. "Viruses have been completely eliminated sir." The medic reported. "Good." Tom said. "Take this scum away. His trial begins soon."

Andross was arrested at 10:53pm Corneria Time and arrived at the Military HQ courthouse at 11:04pm. The Council had then charged Andross guilty of mass genocide, utilization of biological weaponry, and the murder of 4 Cornerian officers. Tom had suggested that Andross be put to death for his crimes, but Bernard and Pepper overruled him, sentencing him to life exile on the volcanic planet of Venom, where all the worst criminals were kept. Tom was very disappointed with this ruling and quietly marched out of the courtroom. Pepper and James met Tom in the Mess Hall.

"I know that you think that Andross deserves to die," Pepper explained to Tom. "But it is better that we not get his blood on our hands. Otherwise, we might get threats from his relatives. And Andross has a lot of ties in the system."

"It doesn't matter." Tom retorted. "If we had killed Andross, we could have ended a mad psychopath. And if his relatives or connections started coming after us, I would've let them and dropped the hammer of justice on them as well. Should they had done something terrible in the future, I would've tracked them down and had them arrested and dealt with. But no, you believe that we can just exile him to a desolate planet, where we can just forget about him. I think he will start plotting against us."

James then spoke up. "I understand your reasoning Tom, but we can't just kill everyone who kills another person. It would make us seem tyrannical and would paint you as a bloodthirsty person. Let it go Tom. Accept that we have this under control." Tom looked up at James with understanding.

"You're right James. I'm just wanting to make sure that peace is kept. But you are right, killing every criminal is something that is frowned upon, but we do need to keep a close eye on Andross. I still don't like this." Tom turned towards his portable star chart on the table. He stared at Venom and thought of what Andross was plotting, if he was plotting anything.


	8. A Life Changing Decision

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 8

A Life Changing Decision

"It has been five years since the exile of mad scientist Andross Oikonny, who single-handedly attempted to wipe out all life on Corneria using microwaves to enhance the growth of a simple virus. Andross is currently spending the rest of his life on the volcanic penal world of Venom, along with many other criminals of whom the government did not execute for their crimes against the Federation. Now, the day that Andross was captured and convicted of mass genocide is known as what?"

A young fox, at the age of about 16 Lylat years old, had raised his hand and stood up to address Tom.

"Corneria Reclamation Day." The fox answered him.

"Good, Fox. That is correct. In acknowledgement of the brave individuals who participated in the assault on Andross's lab and apprehended him is known as Corneria Reclamation Day, which we celebrate today. Yes, you have a question?"

A young toad had raised his hand yet remained sitting in his seat.

"Weren't you one of the leading commanders who lead the assault on Andross's Lab?" the toad asked.

Tom's face turned from a smile to painful thought. The four officers who were killed in the assault rang in his mind. Tom then looked back at the toad and gave a weak smile.

"Yes Slippy, I was one of the leaders." Tom replied.

"Well, I thank you for your service captain. You've done a great deal for our Federation." Slippy stood up and gave Tom a humble salute. Many of the other cadets had also stood up and saluted Tom. Tom looked back at the cadets as tears started to well up in his eyes. Tom noticed them and quickly wiped them away, then saluted them back. Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class period. A female poodle stood up from her desk.

"That marks the end of history class and for the day cadets. Thank you Captain Brusker for your service and for giving our cadets a most intriguing lesson."

Tom turned towards the poodle. "Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to educate our future pilots."

Tom had walked out of the flight academy, but someone called to him from behind. "Hey Tom, mind giving us a ride?"

Tom turned to see Fox and Slippy running towards him.

"Don't you have a ride of your own Fox?" Tom asked.

Fox grinned. "I do, but I took the bus here so I could fly home with you Tom, like old times."

Tom looked at Fox. "You sly fox." Tom looked over to Slippy. "Did he talk you into this?"

"Well, maybe." Slippy said.

Tom gave a sigh of defeat. "Well, alright then, but this is the very last time Fox. Next time you ask, I'll leave you here to take the bus home." He turned to Slippy. "As for you, I'm only doing this because I'm friends with your father and that you're friends with Fox. Don't get any ideas that I'm a taxi."

"Right Captain." Slippy said.

Tom walked over to his hovercar with Fox and Slippy. It was a black Cassano that seated five people. Tom entered the driver side, Fox entered the passenger side, and Slippy entered into the back seat. One on the road, Slippy started talking to Tom about what they were currently doing in the flight academy, how they did in the flight simulations, their current test scores, and what they plan on doing after they graduate. When everything had gone quiet, Slippy broke the silence.  
"Captain…" he began. "Just call me Tom, Slippy. I'm Captain Brusker in the academy and the work force, but out here when I'm on my off time, just address me by my first name."

"Okay, Tom. I do apologize for bringing up any bad memories about the assault." Slippy said.

Tom switched on the autopilot and turned to Slippy. "You don't have to apologize Slippy. It was my fault that they were killed. I didn't catch the laser in time, and they paid for my mistake. I should've been the one who died that day." Tom started thinking of them again, but quickly shook his head.

"But you managed to disable it before more men were killed." Slippy said. "My dad checked the electrical systems after Andross was taken away and found that the laser was also connected to a separate turret grid leading into the lobby. You disabled the system before it could activate in the lobby. You saved those other teams from meeting the same fate. So don't dwell on how you caused the deaths of four police officers when you saved many more lives of the other police teams, not to mention the countess civilian lives that you managed to save in disabling the microwave tower."

"Slippy's right Tom." Fox added. "You are a hero, and you saved a lot of people."

Tom looked at both of them. "Thanks guys. You're right. I need to keep thinking of what good came from my actions and not what bad came out of it."

Tom dropped off Slippy at Beltino's place and set off for the McCloud home. Tom turned to Fox.

"You know that James plans for you to take over Star Fox after he retires. By then, you'll have a lot of decisions to make about how you want to run it."

Fox smiled. "I've got it all planned out. But instead of taking over when dad retires, why not fly with him on a few missions? Get some personal experience with the old man."

Tom thought of what Fox said. "I'm sure he would like that." Tom said. "But most of the other pilots would be retiring as well. Peppy is getting pretty close to settling down and starting a family and Pigma, well Pigma is just wanting to be Pigma. What I'm trying to say is that you will need to find some new pilots."

"Well what about you? Would you be interested in joining Star Fox?" Tom looked puzzled at Fox. "Why would you..."

"I've heard some of your talks with dad. He thinks that you would be perfect for Star Fox, especially with how much you guys worked together over the years. Said you were easy to work with. And considering that I've known you for most of my life now, I think I could maybe still learn a thing or two from you."

"And did you hear my response to you father every time he asked me?" Tom asked.

"He told me that you had too much going on in the Cornerian Army. Said that you thought that things would start to collapse with you in Star Fox."

Tom looked at Fox with sadness. "I really would love to fight alongside your father again and even potentially with you Fox, but I got to make sure that I do what is best for Corneria and not for myself."

"You're bored." Fox exclaimed.

"What?!" Tom said puzzled.

"You heard me. I can see it in your eyes. You don't want to be stuck in an office all day plotting points. You want to personally make sure those pirates pay for their misdeeds. That is why you voted for Andross to be executed. He took the lives of others, and thus made his own life worthless."

Tom looked at Fox with amazement. Fox had read every thought that crossed his mind at that very moment.

"Look. I know how you feel. You can join Star Fox and still be a captain. You can still do good for Corneria but get properly paid for it. Plus, you can take down all the villains yourself. You can make a difference in the system and get your poetic justice at the same time." Fox looked at Tom.

"I…" This was the first time that Tom had ever been speechless about anything. Fox then spoke again.

"You don't have to give me your answer now. Just think on it. Give it some time to flow through your mind. Besides, I've still got some time left before I graduate."

Tom had just pulled up to Fox's home as he said this. Fox exited the car and gave Tom a thumbs-up.

"Think on it." Fox said and he closed the door and walked into the house.

Tom sat there alone in the car, thinking on what Fox had offered him, and so freely too.

"_You're bored. I can see it in your eyes… You can make a difference in the system and get your poetic justice at the same time… Think on it…_"

_Fox knew what I wanted, but is he right? If I do leave Corneria and join him, would I get what I want and still help Corneria? _ Suddenly, a loud ringing started in his ear. Tom was jerked from his thoughts back into reality. The ringing was coming from the commlink in his left ear, meaning that someone from the military was calling him. Tom answered the commlink. It was General Pepper calling him.  
"Captain, your presence is requested at the HQ immediately. We'll fill you in on what is happening once you get here."

"I'm on my way General. I'm fifteen minutes away. I'll be there shortly." Tom answered.

As Tom set his course for the Corneria Military Headquarters, Fox's proposition still rang in his mind. He wondered what James would say if he told him that Fox had offered him a position in Star Fox. Whatever happened, it would have to wait until the new mission was over.


	9. The Last Straw

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 9

The Last Straw

Tom rushed to the conference room, making haste for the new mission at hand. There, General Pepper sat in the far seat, the one where Bernard would usually sit in. James was also there sitting at the table with fellow Star Fox members Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar. When Tom had entered, everyone had looked up at him.

"Tom." Pepper announced. "Quite a sprint you made to get here."

"I have a duty to the Federation, which I proudly accept." Tom responded with forced pride.

"Good. Sit down." Pepper said, gesturing to the empty chair next to James. Tom quickly took the seat and turned to James.

"Been a while old friend. There's something I need to tell you when you have time." Tom said.

James nodded. "We'll talk in the Prep room after the meeting."

"All right men, pay attention." Pepper barked. Both Tom and James turned to face Pepper as he stood up.

"Lately, we have been noticing some strange activity on Venom. We are thinking it may be some unusual volcanic activity, but we can't be completely sure. I am sending you three in to check out what is going on down there."

Tom stood up. "General, you mentioned the three of you. Am I not needed for this patrol?" Tom questioned Pepper.

"I have something much better for you, Captain. You will be with me in the Control Room monitoring their progress." Pepper said.

Tom looked at Pepper with slight confusion. "I'm not sure I completely understand what you are implying sir."

"I am saying that you are sitting this mission out." Pepper said a little more forcefully.

Tom slammed his hands on the table. "With all due respect sir, I believe I should be out there, with the patrol, with James. Leaving me in the Control Room would not be the smartest play."

Pepper now put down his fists on the table. "You are only a Captain, and you will respect the orders of your commanding officer."

Tom now curled his hands into fists. "You are making a grave mistake General!"

Both Pepper and Tom stared at each other with hatred in their eyes. Each seemed like they were ready to tear each other apart. James, realizing that this could end badly for everyone if nothing was done, stood up and came between the both of them.

"Gentlemen!" James yelled. "Please! This is no time to be tearing at each other's throats."

Tom looked over at James, still with hatred in his eyes. Realizing what he was doing, Tom slowly started relaxing himself. He then looked over back to Pepper.

"Forgive me General. I stepped out of line." Tom said, sitting back into his chair.

Pepper sat back down still looking very tense. James remained standing.

"If I may offer a compromise General." James requested.

Pepper turned his head towards James. "I suppose you have something good to suggest."

"I believe that Star Fox can handle this operation. It is only a simple patrol." James faced Tom. "You can sit this one out and monitor us in the control room. And in return, I will support you in getting assigned for the next Star Fox mission that comes up."

Tom looked over to Pigma, furrowed his brow, then turned back to James. "I have a really bad feeling about this James, but I trust you that you'll make it out of this. It's only a simple patrol."

Pepper then stood up once again. "Good. You are to report to the control room at 1400 hours and no exceptions Captain. Star Fox, 1400 hours in the docking bay. This meeting is adjourned."

Tom forcefully stood up from his chair and walked out into the hall, to the Prep room.

"Hold up Tom!" James called.

Tom slowed down to allow James to catch up. James looked very concerned and a little angry with Tom.

"What the hell was that in there, arguing with the General. You could lose your status for that." James lectured Tom.

Tom started getting a little angry with James now. "He was making a terrible mistake." Tom retorted.

"And you think that we are insufficient in handling this ourselves?" James said.

"It's not that I think that you guys are incapable of this mission, it's that I want to be there if something really DOES happen on Venom. This is the System's prison dump we are talking about. Something is gonna happen, I can feel it." Tom was shaking with rage towards Pepper and now a little towards James.

James stopped Tom in the hallway and shook him. "Listen to yourself. You're not thinking straight. Something is on your mind. What is it?"

Tom looked down at the floor and then straight into James's eyes. "Your son offered me a position as a pilot in Star Fox." Tom confessed. James flinched a little from hearing this.

"What?" James said confused.

"I took Fox home today before I got called in here and we were talking about his future. I mentioned that he would need to get new pilots and he offered me a position."

"And what did you answer him?" James asked.

"He told me to think on it."

James furrowed his brow. "And how do you feel about it now?"

"I'm thinking of taking him up on it." Tom said.

Both James and Tom stood there for a moment or two in absolute silence. Then, unexpectedly, James started to laugh. Tom was even more confused. When James saw the look on Tom's face, he gave Tom a hug.

"James?" Tom asked.

James let go of Tom still smiling. "I knew you would finally see it. I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Tom asked still more confused.

"That you hate what you're doing now. That you want action, adventure, a personal hand in Fox's future."

Tom stepped back a little. "That's not exactly what I was implying. Yes, I want to be out there. Yes, I hate sitting in an office all damn day. But I never said that I wanted a hand in Fox's future."

James still smiled at Tom. "But you want to join Star Fox. You want to be a real Field Commander again. You want to fly with me again."

Tom started to smile now. "So then, you actually meant it? When you said that you would support me in getting assigned to the next mission?"

James grabbed Tom's shoulders again. "Of course, I meant it. I've been trying to get you to join Star Fox for years now, to make you see that you don't have to stay in a grubby office plotting points and signing paperwork all day. That you can make a difference in keeping this system safe and fighting alongside friends, like you wanted. I've fought alongside you long enough to understand what you want."

Tom's smile continued to widen until it was a huge grin. Well then, as the leader of Star Fox, would you accept my application James McCloud?"

James returned the grin. "Yes Tom. Welcome officially to Star Fox." James handed Tom a silver fox with wings on it, officially making Tom an honorary member of Star Fox. Tom and James then embraced in a manly hug before setting off once again down the hall to the Prep Room.

At 1400 hours, Tom had reported to the control room and stationed himself in the central chair. Pepper had argued once again that he was the one leading this, but Tom bitterly reminded him that as far as field missions go, he was the one calling the shots here. Star Fox had reached Venom at around 1600 hours Cornerian Standard Time, starting their patrol.

"Command this is Fox 1 checking in, over." James said.

"I read you James. Good to see you made it to Venom." Tom opened up the holotab to view the mission. "Your mission is quite simple. Patrol the planet, report back anything suspicious, then get back to Corneria as soon as possible. Comms will remain open to ensure we get everything that you see. How copy, over?"

"Roger Command." James said. He then turned to his copilots. "Peppy, Pigma, stay sharp. We don't know what we might find down there."

The trio of Arwings descended down into the atmosphere and began scanning for any suspicious activity. Tom was sitting in his chair, anxiously praying that this mission wouldn't go south, as it easily could. Pigma's Arwing had started to descend a little lower than the patrol, which Peppy noticed immediately.

"Pigma, stay on the ball. Stay in formation and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious."

"Sorry Peppy. Lost a bit of power from the engines for a moment there." Pigma said innocently.

"Enough of that Pigma. Just stay alert." James said. And then something caught his eye. Black smoke rising out from under the ground. This was unusual for James, for the volcano was producing grey smoke.

"Command. Fox 1. You seeing this black smoke here?"

Tom stood up in amazement as to what he was seeing. He gave a glance to Pepper, who was looking just as amazed as Tom was. Tom turned back toward the intercom.

"I see it James. This is most unusual. Continue sweeping the surface, Fox 1."

Tom then turned back to Pepper. "Black smoke on Venom. You ever heard of such an occurrence General?"

Pepper shook his head. "Not in all my years of service, Captain. Smoke like is only dispensed when something is burning. But not just anything, but when fuel is burned, like wood or gasoline."

Tom walked a little closer toward Pepper. "And are there any known fuel sources on Venom?"

Pepper then widened his eyes in realization. "There was an abandoned coal mine that we used to use back before we made Venom a penal planet. We always thought that the mines had been completely exhausted since over 50 years ago."

Tom now looked back towards the monitor at the planet surface. If there were still coal reserves on Venom, then those criminals were sitting directly on top of a gold mine of fuel. Tom then turned back to Pepper. "What about metal? Was there steel or some kind of metallic substance on Venom?"

Pepper grimly nodded. "There were certain substances of liquid metal, but those reserves were only detected in the volcano."

Tom narrowed his eyes at Pepper. "General, I request that we pull them out of there immediately!" Pepper looked indignant at the thought.

"Absolutely not!" Pepper exclaimed. "We still do not know the condition of Venom."

Tom walked up to Pepper until they were literally almost nose to nose.

"The situation of the planet is extremely hostile. We literally have a mad scientific genius along with other hardened criminals on that planet with an entire arsenal of fuel and steel unmonitored and at their disposal. We need to act accordingly."

"Right you are, Captain. Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Both Tom and Pepper slowly turned their heads towards the monitor to see static. When the static ended, Andross appeared in place of James's camera feed. Andross was wearing an evil grin on his face, delighted to see the appalled looks on both Tom's and Pepper's faces.

"So, you've finally figured out my little plan. Good for you." Andross said, still grinning.

When no one spoke, Andross continued. "You took everything away from me just because you didn't like the little science experiments I was conducting. And just when I thought I had gotten my revenge upon you bastards; you break into my secret lab and exile me to this hell. You took everything from me, so now I'll take something very valuable from you. Both of you." Andross then turned towards a small intercom on his desk. "Pigma, you have your orders, carry them out."

"Yes Andross. I'll make sure that they don't escape Venom. Ever!" The last of the communication from Pigma was his maniacal laughter. Andross then turned back towards Pepper.

"Soon, the galaxy will be mine, and there will be nothing you can do to stop me. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Andross!" Tom screamed. The picture faded out as it returned to James's camera. The sight that it showed was unbelievable. Pigma's ship was firing on Peppy along with several laser cannons firing from the ground and small fighters from the air. James suddenly got hit from one of the cannons and started to go down. The ship crashed but remained intact. The last image that James's camera showed was him being dragged out of the Arwing and into the ground. After that, static.

Tom sat down in his chair, horrified at what he had just witnessed. Pepper walked up and put a hand on Tom's shoulder. "He was a good man." Tom violently jerked himself away from Pepper. The hatred for Pepper now burned more fiercely in Tom's eyes than it did earlier that day.

"Don't you dare touch me, you bastard." Tom said.

Pepper walked forward toward Tom, but Tom continued to walk back.

"There was nothing we could've done." Pepper urged. But Tom violently shook his head.

"There was plenty that could've been done to have averted this outcome. You could've ordered them to pull out when I said to. You could've let me go on that patrol with them. I could've been calling the shots here. But no! You had to think yourself better than me. You had to think that this was just some kind of peaceful patrol. You are incompetent and it cost James and Peppy their lives and it is all your fault!"

Pepper looked at Tom with a forced anger but sighed in resign to Tom's insults. Deep down, he knew that Tom was right. Tom stormed out of the control room, tears streaking down his face, grieving his lost friend, his mind racing as to how he was to convey to Fox that he had just lost his father. It wasn't until a couple days later that Tom had gotten his answer. Tom had gone into work that say, still thinking of how he was going to make Andross pay when an unidentified aircraft came up on Tom's star map. Tom quickly scanned the vessel and realized that it was an Arwing fighter. Tom then reached for his commlink.

"Arwing pilot, this is Captain Thomas Brusker of Corneria. Identify yourself or I will be forced to shoot you sown."

"Thi- - -eppy, I –ve taken he- -ama- - my sh-. -uesti- -rmission to la-."

Tom tuned the frequency, seeing if it made the message any clearer. "Say again Arwing."

"This is Peppy, I have taken heavy damage to my ship, requesting permission to land."

"Peppy?" Tom shouted. He then pinpointed the possible crash sight. "How much damage has your ship sustained?" Tom asked urgently.

"I'm losing power fast. Might not be able to stay in the air for much longer."

Tom then scanned for a hangar that Peppy may be able to land in. Hangar 14 caught Tom's eye.

"Peppy, listen to me. I am opening Hangar 14 just 2 miles from your current position. Can you make it?"

"I'll try my best. Just get me the hell out of this thing."

Tom turned the radio frequency to Hangar 14.

"Hangar 14, this is Captain Brusker. I need you to prepare for a visitor. We got a heavily damaged Arwing inbound. Prep for landing."

"Roger Captain, we'll be ready."

Peppy managed to land his ship in the nick of time before his Arwing had completely lost all power. Peppy had sustained massive bruises all over his body and was quickly rushed to the infirmary. When Tom had come to question Peppy, Peppy was both glad and sad to see Tom. Before Tom could say anything, Peppy told Tom that James was dead. Tom was in disbelief the moment he had heard this, but Peppy said that Andross had fired a laser at James, disintegrating him. It was James's sacrifice that had allowed Peppy to escape.

Tom went back home to tell Fox about what he had just heard. They both grieved over James for several weeks, strengthening their friendship even more. After Fox had graduated from the flight academy, he had officially became the leader of his father's flight team: Star Fox. Tom, sick of how Pepper treated him and keeping his word to James before he died, joined Star Fox, along with the team's official mechanic Slippy Toad, veteran Star Fox pilot Peppy Hare, and former renegade gang leader Falco Lombardi.

As a graduation gift for Fox, Tom had requested his human scientist friends to build him a ship that would be the home of Star Fox, a ship that Fox later named the Great Fox. Tom had also created a robot driver of the Great Fox, whom Fox named ROB64. ROB was not too talkative or supportive when it came to keeping the morale of Star Fox high, but his piloting skills of the Great Fox were second to none. Four brand new Arwings, know as model 6 Arwings, were stationed within the Great Fox, one for each of the pilots. Tom, on the other hand, had docked his personal fighter ship in a separate compartment of the ship, a black StarCrusher class ship he called "Nebula".

5 years had passed, and Tom had built a strong bond with his team, just as James would have wanted. _James… huh_. Tom thought of James every time he looked out at the stars, the early memories of taking down space pirates with James flashing in his mind. Yet it was at this time as he looked out at the vast blanket of stars that it happened. Tom had looked at his reflection in the glass window of the Great Fox that James appeared looking back at him. Tom flinched and shook his head but realized that it was not his reflection. Tom then looked back and saw James, or what looked like James, standing there next to the couch. Tom's eyes widened in surprise.

"James? Is it really you?" Tom said. James stood up from the couch and walked over to Tom.

"Hello Tom." He said.

Tom shook his head even more violently now. "No." He said. "You're dead. You can't be here."

"Oh, I am very much alive." James replied. "Although, I'm not exactly here either."

"What do you mean?" Tom asked. "Peppy said that Andross shot you."

"Well, he is right about that. But that ray was an inter-dimensional beam. It didn't kill me, but it did teleport me into another dimension."

Tom stood there trying to wrap his brain around what James had just told him. "Then how are you here?" Tom asked perplexed.

"There are certain pockets, as you say, where I can communicate with people from another dimension. Unfortunately, there are only a certain number of pockets that I can only speak with you from and once I finish, that pocket closes forever. These pockets are all Andross's creations. But enough about that. There is something I need you to know."

Tom nodded.

"Andross is preparing for war." James said. "Today, he will launch his attack on the Lylat System, and it is up to you and Star Fox to kill him and his armies."

"I'm pretty sure the Cornerian Army is sufficient enough to handle him." Tom said.

James shook his head. "You know why the Cornerian Army was strong. Not because Pepper is the leading officer, but because you were. You were the military commander. Sure, Pepper managed to keep the smaller criminals at bay while you were gone, but you were the one who kept the bigger ones like Andross in check. Now I know that Pepper made some terrible mistakes 5 years ago, I know this because I could still hear you through the commlink, and I know that you resented him for it, but it's time that you forgave him and be the bigger man."

Tom looked down at the floor, away from his friend, and sighed in resignation.

"Okay." Tom said.

"Good." James said and he began to walk away. Tom stopped him though.

"James." Tom shouted. "If you're not dead, then why haven't you tried finding a way to get back?"

"That, I leave for you to do Tom. If you truly want me back, then when the time is right, you'll know how to." James then faded away as the alarm began to sound on the Great Fox. It seemed that James was right, and that it was up to Tom and Star Fox to deal with him, personally.


	10. The Battle of Corneria

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 10

The Battle of Corneria

As the alarm continued blaring, Tom was heading towards his personal compartment, where he kept Nebula. The alarm now spoke with Tom's voice.

"Attention! Attention! All pilots report to your Arwings. This is not a drill. Repeat! This is not a drill."

Tom's commlink began to ring. Tom swiftly answered it.  
"Tom? What the hell is happening?" Fox asked urgently.

"We got trouble Fox. Looks like we got a distress beacon from Corneria, probably Andross finally making his move. I need the four of you to proceed to your Arwings immediately. We got some bad guys to kill."

Tom then received a message from ROB. "Incoming message from General Pepper. Priority one!"

The visual then switched to General Pepper, who was looking a little disheveled. "We need your help Star Fox. Andross has declared war. He's invaded the Lylat System and is trying to take over Corneria. Our army alone can't do the job. Hurry, Star Fox."

Tom then switched his commlink back to Fox. "You get that Fox?"

"I did. We're heading for the Arwings now. Let's Rock and Roll!"

Tom had reached his personal compartment now. He opened the hand scanner and scanned his left hand. A beam vroomed across his hand and the whole panel illuminated with green.

"Access granted. Welcome Captain Brusker."

The cockpit visor opened up as Tom jumped onto the left wing. Tom then leapt into the seat and strapped himself in. He then flipped a switch that closed the visor. He flipped a few more switches, and the engines began to rev. Tom then turned on his G-diffuser system and comm channel. "All aircraft, check in." Tom said.

"All Arwings, ready for departure." Fox responded.

Tom then clicked a button, opening a hatch in front of him. This hatch corresponded to the right side of the Great Fox in the middle of both wings. He then turned back to the comm.

"ROB, what is the status on getting to Corneria?"

"Corneria is in sight. You are clear for eject process." ROB responded.

"All fighters are ready. Engage thrusters!" Tom thrust the engine toggle, engaging the thrust in the engines. Tom shot out of the hangar like a bullet, leaving behind only scorch marks on the thrust board. The first thing that caught Tom's eye out there in space was the giant blue marble to his right, which also had yellow flashes occurring on the green continents. _Damn. Looks like they've already hit Corneria hard. We'll have to move fast before Andross does any more damage to this place._ Tom then turned Nebula right until he was facing Corneria. The rest of Star Fox had just finished ejecting out of the Great Fox as Tom flew into formation from behind.

"Been a while since we were here, eh Fox?" Tom said.

"Home sweet home." Fox said sarcastically.

"Cut the chatter, we got some people to save." Falco said impatiently.

"Right. Team, proceed with the atmospheric entry." Tom said.

Star Fox zoomed through space heading directly for Corneria. As they got closer, the blue changed to white, as heat streaks began to form onto the front sides of the ships. This did not phase Star Fox, for they had made entries into several different atmospheres of different planets the very same way. That and Slippy's tireless work of making sure the Arwings were top notch in being fireproof above all. As for Nebula, Tom always made sure that she was ready for any kind of situation, which meant that fireproofing her was the first thing that he made sure was top notch.

As Star Fox continued to descend farther through, Tom opened a comm channel to Corneria HQ.

"This is Captain Thomas Brusker of Star Fox, help is on the way." Pepper then appeared onto the screen.

"It's about time you showed up." Pepper said.

"Good to see you too." Tom said a little coldly. After five years of living away from Corneria and away from Pepper, Tom still hadn't forgiven him for what he had done. Pepper, who seemed to be a little nicer than before, noticed the tone in Tom's voice.

"Listen Tom. I know that now isn't the proper time, but I wanted to apologize for what happened. I would also like to thank you for aiding us…"

"I'm not doing this for you Pepper." Tom interrupted. "I'm doing it for the innocent people who are once again suffering from your mistakes. But, being out in space has finally made me realize something: that I actually was partially responsible for this. If you want forgiveness, then fine. I forgive you. But just remember, the last time I did anything for you was five years ago, and that's the very last time." Tom ended the channel very sternly, sighing sadly as he thought about those memories again. Fox then popped up on the comm.

"Geez Tom, you didn't have to bite off his head like that." Fox said.

Tom shook himself. "Sorry Fox. I just… still can't get them out of my head."

Peppy then popped up. "Well stop thinking about the past and start living in the present."

Tom narrowed his eyes at Peppy. Peppy then sighed.

"Look, I loved him too Tom. He was like a brother to me, but we can't dwell on things for too long. You gotta start thinking about how we are going to take out Andross and end this war. It's what James would've wanted."

Tom looked down. "Yeah. I know." Tom said. "He told me."

"Sorry. What was that you said?" Peppy said confused.

Tom jerked up a bit. "Oh. He told me that. How if he died before me, he would want me to focus on keeping myself and those I loved alive and to focus on the missions that we are tasked with. Said it right here in the Prep room five years ago."

"Oh. I see." Peppy said, his ears twitching in thought.

Tom then looked up. Blue began to fill his visor. "We are in the troposphere now. Level out boys." Star Fox began to level themselves out, cruising just a few hundred feet above the Cornerian Ocean. Fox then took command of the force.

"Open the wings." Fox said. The Arwings' wings began to alter from space cruise mode to land cruise mode. The flaps were lifted and lowered to make sure that they were working, as it allowed the Arwings to quickly veer to either side.

"Wings are fully functional." Slippy reported.

"Check your G-diffuser systems." Fox said.

"Falco here, I'm fine."

"This is Peppy. All systems go."

"Slippy here. I'm okay."

"Tom reporting. Locked and Loaded."

"I see them up ahead. Let's Rock and Roll!"

Star Fox broke formation and the fight began. Slippy, being overexcited as usual, speedily rushed forward ahead of the rest of the group.

"Slippy, get back here." Peppy called. But before anyone could do anything, a Venomian ship rushed in and began shooting at Slippy.

"Slippy watch out. Bogey on your tail." Peppy warned.

"Whoa! Help me!" Slippy called. Tom got into position and was about to squeeze the trigger when Fox rushed ahead and shot down the enemy ship, freeing Slippy from the chase.

"Thanks Fox. I thought they had me." Slippy sighed in relief.

"Getting a little reckless there, Fox. Careful." Tom said a little annoyed.

"Will do." Fox replied casually. This reply did not seem to help Tom's mood as they continued to fly over the Cornerian Bay. Several more ships rushed in, trying their best to stop the dynamic team of mercenaries, but they were no match. Fox had calmed down a little, sticking with the team instead of rushing in for kills, though Tom kept his eyes out in case Fox did anything unexpected.

"We're entering Corneria City." Fox informed.

The team started seeing billowing clouds of smoke emanating from destroyed buildings. Giant robots using tracks for mobility painted with a magenta tint were seen toppling buildings and firing lasers. Small tanks were also firing on the buildings, causing debris to fly everywhere. Tom looked down on at the destruction as a fire of anger and resentment for these monkeys flashed in his eyes as he thought of all the innocent people that were killed from these attacks before they arrived. _One way or another, you will pay for all of this Andross. I'll make sure of that. _

"This is horrible." Falco said. Tom looked over at Falco and gave him a small nod. Falco returned the nod.

"Everybody, stay alert." Peppy said, now tailing an enemy ship zipping through the city.

"I'm going in to take out the Giants." Tom said.

"I'm with you." Peppy said, now having finished of his target.

Tom then descended into the city, rushing between the buildings at a low altitude, Peppy at his rear. Many of the Giants turned and began to fire towards the two ships. Tom pulled the trigger, firing blue lasers from his cannons. It took a few shots, but the Giant soon exploded in a blaze. Several more Giants were destroyed, ensuring that the interior of the city was free from the assault.

Higher in the air, Fox, Falco, and Slippy were engaging several fighters that were coming in from the west. Fox had taken most of them out, yet several more seemed to replace their fallen buddies. Falco rushed forward and shot a smart bomb at one of the Giants, but soon had five enemy fighters close in on him from behind.

"Fox, get the ones behind me." Falco said urgently. Fox boosted forward, lining himself up for a smart bomb. The ships continued firing as one of the lasers hit Falco straight in the engine. Falco attempted to boost himself forward but was unable to.

"Something's wrong with the G-diffuser." Falco said. Tom, hearing this, boosted upwards, looped over Falco and fired a smart bomb, eliminating the enemy fighters from Falco's tail.

"I guess I should be thankful." Falco said, smiling to himself. Tom and Peppy then rejoined the aerial group. Tom then noticed a small bit of smoke coming out of Falco's engine.

"Falco, you're smoking from the rear." Tom said.

"I'll be fine." Falco retorted.

Tom could obviously see that this was not fine, and that at any moment, the engine might give out completely, forcing Falco to crash land. Tom pushed a button, opening up a hatch on his left wing, revealing a small cannon.

"Falco, you are not fine, and so I will temporarily repair some of the damage." Tom said, locking on to Falco's ship.

"What are you playing at?" Falco asked nervously.

Tom pulled a small trigger on the left side and fired a small ball at Falco's engine. The ball opened up as small robots attached themselves to Falco's ship. They began to repair the damage sustained from the enemy fire. At once, the G-diffuser systems were back online, and the smoke had cleared up.

"Thanks, I guess." Falco said pompously.

The robots then broke away from the ship and self-destructed in midair.

The team was now fighting the Venomian Army on the outskirts of the city, where construction had been taking place, but now housed several Giants swinging I-beams. They soon spotted Star Fox and started throwing the I-beams at them. One Giant in particular was swinging an I-beam above his head like a baton. The team blasted the Giants away, destroying all enemies in the area. The team then advanced east, flying over a river to reach one of their primary targets on the other side of the river. Certain ski-Giants were skiing across the water, firing lasers at boats in the river. The team decided to take them out. Fox then spotted some archways that were carved out of the rocks. Thinking of showing off, Fox decided to fly through all seven of them. Fox easily zipped through the first and second ones, then did a loop after passing through the third one.

"Pretty smooth flying, Fox." Falco said sarcastically. Fox continued through the fourth one, ignoring Falco's snide comment. Tom looked on and thought of James, how he zipped through the stars with ease and even showed off a little to Tom. Tom smiled a little from the thought and wondered if those times really could happen again. Suddenly, Tom's monitor started flashing red.

"I think we found one of our targets." Tom said. Sure enough, a gigantic carrier ship began flying over them, zooming over a waterfall.

"Follow me, Fox." Falco said, now fired up.

"Falco. Where are ya going?" Fox asked confused. Falco then zipped through the waterfall.

"I've found the target. Try and keep up!"

Tom, thinking that Falco might be on to something, boosted on through the waterfall. The waterfall began to wane, revealing a small patch of land leading out into a secret tributary. The rest of the team began coming in from behind. Falco engaged himself with a flying bomber bird.

"Time for a little payback." Falco said, firing his lasers rapidly. "Gotcha!" he said triumphantly a few seconds later. Soon, the land turned once again to water as they continued onwards.

"Ah! Someone wants to play." Tom looked around, wondering where the transmission was coming from.

"Incoming enemy from the rear. Drop altitude." Peppy said, realizing who had transmitted the signal. Sure enough, the carrier flew right in front of Star Fox and began to match their speed. All of a sudden, the hangar doors swung open.

"Attack!" the carrier pilot screamed, as missiles started flying out of the doors.

"Evasive maneuvers." Tom ordered. The team split on to both sides to avoid the barrage. Tom then began to open fire on the carrier. The lasers just bounced right off.

"Damn!" Tom shouted. Peppy then flew in front as the doors swung open once more. Peppy then began to shoot into the open hangar. "Aim for the open spots." Peppy said. Tom then began to open fire. Fox then fired a smart bomb, destroying one of the doors.

"That's it, Fox!" Falco shouted.

Soon, both of the other doors had been destroyed, forcing the carrier to retreat and charge its main laser.

"Yeah! It's working." Falco shouted again.

The carrier soon turned back around and began firing a huge barrage of lasers from the front cannon at Star Fox.

"GO!" The pilot screamed. Now Tom and Fox both fired smart bombs at the carrier, critically disabling it.

"Who are you guys?!" The pilot asked pitifully.

"We're Star Fox." Fox slyly answered.  
"You'll never defeat Andross!" he screamed, and the carrier dove into the water and exploded.

"That's one target down." Tom said. "We've still got one more boss to deal with. Let's get back onto our original course."

"Right!" The team responded.

With the enemy carrier destroyed, Star Fox turned back around towards the waterfall again. From there, they continued onward past it and towards their final objective. Tom was feeling a lot better now after having dealt Andross a huge blow to his forces on Corneria. _Just one more boss and Corneria will be successively defended. _Upon approach, Peppy spotted a Giant ahead, but this Giant was much bigger than the others. This one had giant legs that stood 30 feet high, supporting the rest of the walker. Two missile launchers were stationed at where the arms should have been. The enemy commander laughed heartily at Star Fox.

"Deploy all-range mode." Fox said. At this, Fox pushed a button to the right of his console, shifting the wings up and forward. The rest of Star Fox did the same, setting their computers to adjust to the new calibration. The standard radius of all-range mode, with the boss being in the center, stands at around 3 miles out in all directions.

"Ah, so this is Star Fox?" the pilot chortled. Tom activated the scanner on Nebula and searched the known databases of Andross's experiments.

"Granga: Urban Assault Weapon: page 57 of Andross's notes in the heavy weapons section. Granga is one of my more unstable yet effective battle walker prototypes. Its missile launchers can make quick work of any hostile air unit, making it a fine AA choice. Some things to further perfect would be its stability. If one of its legs were to be shot off, it would result in the mech toppling over on itself. Another acute flaw is the power supply on the back of the machine. A precise calibration of any laser weaponry would result in a chain reaction that would completely destroy the mech. Luckily, no known weaponry of the Lylat Federation's is capable of exploiting any of these flaws."

_We'll see about that Andross._ Tom turned a knob to his left, raising the laser's concentration levels, making them more potent. Tom then turned toward his dashboard.

"This mech's weakness is at his back. Shoot his legs off first, then go for the power supply on his back."

"Right." Fox said.

"I'm going to crush you!" Granga's pilot said confidently, firing missiles at Star Fox. The team quickly evaded the missiles and concentrated fire on the legs, sending the mech crashing down on its face. Tom then U-turned and fired some precise shots at Granga's power supply. The box smoked and sparked, causing a meltdown.

"My emperor… I've failed you!" the pilot cried, as Granga exploded, killing him and ending the assault on Corneria.

"Targets have been eliminated." Tom said. "Returning to base."

"All aircraft report!" Fox said.

"I've taken a few hits, but I'm okay." Peppy said a little breathless.

"All good here, Fox." Slippy said cheery.

"Look at my ship. Do you think I'm okay?" Falco protested.

"Not bad for your first official battle Fox." Tom said.

"At least I did much better than your first one." Fox teased.

Both Tom and Fox laughed at this, as Tom thought of James again. _I know you would be proud James. Someday, I'm gonna make things right, and then all of us will be able to fly together. Like we always wanted._


	11. Meteors, Mends and Miscreants

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 11

Meteors, Mends and Miscreants

As Star Fox returned back to the Great Fox, a transmission from General Pepper appeared on the ships' commlinks.

"Well done with repelling Andross's forces from Corneria." He said most grateful.

"We did what we had to General. Corneria, being the center of the Federation, needed to be secured first before anything else. It was only natural." Fox said.

"Yes, yes." Pepper said. "Right then. Your next assignment is the planet Fichina. Our outpost there has sent distress signals indicating that it is under heavy fire. I need you guys to go to Fichina and support them. But stay alert, we've had reports that Star Wolf could be operating in that area, so keep your guard up."

He then switched his channel to where only Tom could hear him.

"I know that you may still think me as uncapable of handling all of this alone, and that I should've listened to you sooner, and I see now that you were right. It took me five grueling years to finally see it, but you're right. I do hope that you can officially truly forgive me."

Tom sighed. "I should be apologizing to you Rory. I got so heated up and held a grudge against you for so long that I forgot that you were not the enemy here. I forgive you if you'll forgive me."

Pepper smiled a little. "Of course, Captain. I do hope that you are happy in Star Fox. Just so you know, I'll do whatever I can to make sure that Andross doesn't do this kind of stuff again."

"You just leave Andross to us General." Tom said, winking. The transmission ended just as Fox flew beside Tom.

"What was taking so long Tom?" Fox said curiously.

"Just mending an old feud, that's all." Tom admitted.

Fox smiled. "Glad to know that you can forgive people, but that of course doesn't mean I ever want to get on your bad side."

"You know it." Tom replied jokingly.

Star Fox was now on approach to the Great Fox. Tom then switched the comm to ROB.

"ROB, we've got orders to head for Fichina." Tom said.

"Fastest route to Fichina is through Meteo." ROB responded.

"Meteo, huh? The old asteroid belt?" Falco asked.

"It's the quickest way to Fichina, and by the sound of Pepper's voice about those distress calls, I'd say that it's our best shot." Tom said.

"Right then. Let's get this done." Fox ordered. The team began to recalibrate their ships to space travel mode, setting a direct course for Fichina. Sure enough, the fastest way to it was straight through Meteo, Corneria's natural asteroid belt separating it from the border planet of Fichina. Now, traveling through Meteo is like going straight through the sun. There was a specific reason why it was known as Lylat's Natural Mine. The ore that was collected from Meteo was very valuable, containing certain materials like space steel used for ship hulls and magnetic elements used for propulsion systems. However, very few have truly traversed through this perilous path.

Many of the Earthling travelers who had seen this gigantic belt had soon been calling it Space's Bermuda Triangle. Many ships had been reported to have gone missing due to having been so bold or foolish as to travel through Meteo. The few ships that had survived the trek reported of primary systems to have gone down due to the magnetic elements in the belt. As for our heroes, well this would not be a walk in the park. Luckily, the Great Fox was equipped for whatever situation.

As Star Fox entered the asteroid belt, it became very clear to them why so many ships had been destroyed or turned back so quickly. Great Fox began to fire its forward batteries, taking out several asteroids that could easily have crushed the Arwings. However, the Great Fox could only do so much, forcing Star Fox to take traversing this treacherous belt into their own hands.

"The belt is too thick for us to go through clumped up like this. We need to split up and advance." Tom ordered.

"Right. Everyone, engage evasive formation Lambda." For said.

All at once, the fighters split off from one another, zooming in and out of the asteroids, blasting any of them in their path. However, Tom noticed some of the systems to be a bit sluggish.

"The ship feels a little slow for me. Anyone having the same problem?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, I'm having the same issue." Fox reported.

"Why is it that we are the ones having to deal with these problems." Falco complained.

"Stay focused guys. We can't let our guard down." Peppy assured.

"The asteroids are giving off some kind of magnetic field. There must still be some magnet ore in them." Slippy said astounded.

"Magnetic or not, they are in our way." Tom said. "Let's keep going. Destroy anything that gets in your way."

The team continued to speed through the asteroids as fast as the propulsion systems could go. Suddenly, a laser fired from one of the asteroids.

"What the hell?!" Falco shouted.

Tom scanned the asteroids and noticed something odd.

"Some of these asteroids are fakes guys. Keep your guard up." Tom warned. Sure enough, more asteroids opened up and began firing lasers at the team. Star Fox made quick work of them, but they continued to appear in large amounts. Some of bigger asteroids had also been housing small laser cannons that fired at the Arwings as they passed. Then a new threat appeared. A moth-like fighter starship started flying at them. It suddenly began to fire rainbow rings at Fox.

"Watch it Fox." Tom said. "Try going through the center of the rings, then hit it with a smart bomb."

Fox did so, and the moth was vanquished. Fox then flew closer to Tom. "Thanks for the tip." He said. Tom nodded.

The rocks were now starting to increase in size as the team started to see frozen crystals floating around open hulls of explorer ships. A closer look revealed the frozen corpses of the explorers who were unfortunate in their travels.

"Poor bastards." Falco said pitifully.

The giant asteroids started to become even larger the more they got closer.

"Here comes a big one." Slippy exclaimed. All of a sudden, they started to collide with one another. "Whoa! Can you make it?" Slippy gasped.

Tom looked for an opening, then punched it. The asteroid barely missed him by a few inches.

"Close one Tom. You do remember I'm the reckless one of the team?" Fox teased.

"Right." Tom laughed.

As soon as Star Fox had cleared the big asteroids, more Venomian forces started arriving. These ones trailed white plasma lines behind them, and they were coordinated enough to form small traps for Star Fox.

"Shoot them down before they trap us." Peppy said. All five members began rapidly firing at the trailers, taking them down before they could do any further harm to them. Soon, the planet of Fichina was in sight. Just then, a ship started coming in from the rear.

"I cannot allow you to go any further." The pilot said. He was flying a gigantic ship with two ultra-thrusters on the top and bottom of the ship. The ship itself looked like an X and in the middle of it stood a gigantic rotating reflector shield. Tom scanned the ship and once again searched through the database.

"Meteo Crusher: Asteroid Destroyer: Page 157 of Andross's notes in the Armored Ships section. The Meteo Crusher was designed to easily destroy any asteroids in our way between the two planets of Fichina and Corneria. Considering that the asteroid belt consists itself of magnetic materials and space steel, this ship is the perfect way for easy mining of these particular resources. This ship is one of my most equipped vessels in the entire arsenal. Armed with a deflector shield that builds up power the more the enemy fires into it. When it is fully charged, it launches it in beams that geometrically match the deflector spots. A slight overlooking flaw to it would be if the shield were to be chipped away from debris or having come into contact with a large meteor, resulting in losing a large chunk of the shield.

Should it fail, the Crusher is equipped with a secondary electron beam. It focuses in on the center, and should the center be disrupted, then that weapon would be rendered useless.

Should all else fail, the Crusher is equipped with one final weapon: a dual pulse cannon that fires rings, encircling the foe and destroying the ship from the outside. However, the mechanics may make the mistake of focusing the reactor pods in the upper and lower sections of the ship, adjacent to the thrusters."

The ship moved into position, blocking the team's passage towards Fichina. The shield began to rotate.

"Let's see what you've got." The pilot taunted. Falco, unwittingly rushing in, decided to fire at the shield.

"Let's see what your shield has to say when I blast it!" he shouted. The deflectors fired a beam from each of the points, damaging Falco's ship.

"Crap! This thing's tough." Falco said annoyed. Peppy then noticed the openings.

"Aim for the yellow transistors." Peppy said. Fox flew in and gave the transistors a few shots. The first transistor exploded, leaving behind an empty hole.

"Good going Fox!" Peppy said joyfully.

"You're more cunning than I thought." The Crusher pilot said.

Tom then took a shot at the second transistor, taking out without any difficulty. Both Fox and Tom then took aim for the third one and destroyed it.

"I've underestimated you." The pilot said, ejecting the broken and useless shield. He then positioned himself to where the electron beam could do its worst.

"How about this?!" he said confidently.

Tom then took a few shots at the central power conduit.

"That conduit powers the beam. Take it out and we'll weaken him even further." Tom said.

Fox nodded as the electron beam began firing. Dodging the beam, Fox fired at the conduit, blowing it up and further decreasing the Crusher's chances at success.

"I'm no match for you." The pilot said in a false sense of sadness.

Tom was unphased by any of this, knowing that Andross's men would go to any lengths to ensure victory.

"I admit defeat." He said, but unmistakably flipping the ship around so that the pulse cannons would be able to fire. Falco, catching this, nodded knowingly to Tom.

"Are you gonna listen to that monkey?!" Falco said unamused at the Crusher's ploys.

"Haha! You're not as STUPID AS YOU LOOK!" the pilot said, now maniacally laughing while firing the pulse cannons.

"Now Fox! Hit him in the power cores!" Tom shouted. Fox fired a smart bomb just as Tom fired one as well. The impact from both bombs onto both power cores caused the Meteo Crusher to swing downwards.

"I can't believe I lost to this SCUM!" the pilot screamed.

"Sorry to jet, but I'm in a hurry!" Fox said, and he fired one final laser to blow the ship away.

"That was a tough fight." Tom said breathing a sigh of relief.

"All aircraft report!" Fox said.

"You did good out there, Fox." Peppy said.

"I guess you're good for something." Falco said.

"I'm ready for the next mission." Slippy said confidently.

"Next stop: Fichina." Tom said.

Tom thought back at what had happened back on this very planet over 25 Lylat years ago. This was indeed the sight of Tom's first official victory, and hopefully, it would be the sight of yet another victory for him.

Meanwhile, a few lightyears away on the other side of Fichina, another mercenary group was stationed on standby, awaiting the orders to swoop in and take out the legendary Star Fox. A team of which was echoed across the stars with dread in its voice. A name that only the fearless uttered: Star Wolf.

"What is taking so long?" A gluttonous voice said impatiently. "I want to take out those guys now."

"Keep your trap shut, pig." A monkey's voice said annoyed.

"Be patient, the both of you. We have our orders to lay low for now. And only when the order to attack has been issued can we finally take what we want." A reptilian voice explained.

"Right you are Leon." Said a growl. "And once we take out this so-called Star Fox, we'll be handsomely rewarded for it. And when I get my hands on that pesky little human Brusker, I'll make him regret ever crossing paths with me."


	12. Star Fox vs Star Wolf

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 12

Star Fox vs. Star Wolf

Having destroyed the Meteo Crusher and cleared the asteroid field in one piece, Star Fox was in quite a good mood as they prepared themselves to enter Fichina's airspace. The team had been properly briefed about the situation: the Venomian Army had captured the main forward outpost of Vector 7-5 and planned to use it as a sort of headquarters, being the same base that had once housed a banquet of which the Earthlings had so generously earned the privilege to attend.

Tom, who had been at the head of the group, switched on the comm channel.

"I'm picking up a lot of hostile forces in and around the base. We got ourselves one hell of a fight coming up." Tom said.

"Let them gather themselves together. We've dealt with worse than this." Fox said confidently.

"Right you are, Fox." Peppy agreed.

"All right boys. Let's go rescue that base." Tom said.

"All aircraft, let's jet." Fox said, and the team zoomed forward towards the planet.

When Star Fox reached the base, several enemy fighters had shot out of the base, zooming on to engage the oncoming intruders.

"Engage All Range Mode!" Fox said. The team had deployed it much quicker this time, as to fully prepare themselves for the fight.

"All fighters, break formation. Weapons free." Tom said, as he zipped past the rest of the team and blasted two fighters in his way.

"Split up and take it to 'em." Fox agreed.

Star Fox began to engage separate fighters, picking them off quite easily at first, but soon became a little overwhelmed later on. Luckily, thanks to the unbreakable trust that each member has with each other, they were able to assist each other in taking down rogue bandits on each other's tails. Soon, more and more Venomian fighters continued to flood out of the base. Slippy started getting a little concerned about this, wondering how many guys are in there.

"Why are ships coming out of the base?" Slippy asked the other members.

Tom then scanned the interior of the base, looking to see what the deal was. Tom soon found it, inserted into the main power core, ticking away.

"A bomb has been planted at the base." ROB informed the rest of the team.

"Geez! Can anyone take care of it?" Fox asked.

Overlooking the ongoing battle, Star Wolf was still in orbit, waiting for their orders from their contractor to engage Star Fox.

"Looks like Star Fox has already engaged these weaklings." One of the pilots said, a red-faced monkey by the name of Andrew Oikonny, Andross's nephew and successor.

"Let's take them out already! I want that reward!" the pig shouted greedily.

"Shut it Pigma. You'll get your reward soon enough." Andrew retorted.

"That's quite enough out of the both of you for today." Leon said. "You know what Wolf will do should you continue to be a problem."

"You can't threaten me!" Andrew spat back. "My father would have your head before you kicked me out of Star Wolf."

"As that is true for the time being, you better watch your back later on." Leon said smoothly.

"Quiet down." The wolf growled. "I can hear you all over the damn comm channel."

Just then, a red button began flashing. The screen on the wolf's ship soon went staticky and revealed the face of their employer: Dr. Andross Oikonny.

"Wolf O'Donnell. Your time has come." Andross boomed.

"Yes sir. What are your orders?" Wolf asked.

"The bomb has been planted and all my forces have completely evacuated the base. It is now your job to make sure that Star Fox doesn't reach it. If they defuse it, then I will cut your pay substantially. Should I remind you the penalty if they reach Venom?"

"No sir. Although, your death threats are somewhat frivolous." Wolf said coolly.

"You will not fail me Wolf. Remember your place, it could very well save what little life and dignity you have left in that black soul of yours." Andross said as the transmission ended.

"All right Star Wolf, the hunt is on!" Wolf ordered.

Back on the surface of Fichina, Star Fox had just discovered the bomb and were debating on who would go in there and defuse the bomb.

"Can't let you do that, Star Fox." Wolf said, announcing the arrival of a new threat to Star Fox.

"Andross has ordered us to take you down." Leon added.

"Peppy. Long time no see!" Pigma said.

"Andross's enemy is my enemy." Andrew said menacingly.

The odds of victory had just been evened out with the arrival of Star Wolf.

"Fancy new ships Wolf?" Tom poked.

"Specially designed Brusker. Not even your Nebula can save you from death now, old rival."

Tom then scanned the ship and once again searched through the database.

"Wolfen: Ultra-Performance All-Range Fighter: page 148 of Andross's notes in the Advanced Fighters section. An upgrade of the original Wolfen ship that notorious space pirate Wolf O'Donnell had been using for many years. Upon special request from Wolf himself, I created three separate yet almost identical ships to the modified original. These ships have been given certain capacities that even match the Model 6 Arwings used by Star Fox, such as g-diffuser technology I salvaged from James McCloud's Arwing. Unfortunately, the ships are still susceptible to laser fire, but assuming that the pilots here are the top of the ranks in the Venomian Army, especially since they are also mercenaries, Star Fox should finally be eliminated."

"Just who we need to see: Star Wolf." Fox said a little annoyed. He then looked in Tom's direction, who nodded confidently at him.

"Head's up guys. We got some new players." Tom said.

"But what about the bomb?" Slippy said.

"Let's take care of these guys first." Fox said.

"Star Wolf, split up and take them out." Wolf said. Star Wolf then zoomed ahead of Wolf and began targeting their corresponding targets: Leon to Falco, Pigma to Peppy, and Andrew to Slippy. Wolf decided to gun for Fox.

Tom decided to help Fox out with Wolf, considering their rivalry.

The rest of Venomian fleet had ben wiped out, and all that was left were the nine all-range fighters duking it out. Tom was zooming around, trying to get a clear shot on Wolf, but Wolf's new fighter seemed to be faster and more aerodynamic than Nebula. Wolf had managed to get a lock-on for Fox.

"You're in my sights. You're going down." Wolf said as he fired a homing blast. Fox did a loop over Wolf to avoid being blasted. "What the hell?!" Wolf interjected.

"I've got Wolf for now Tom. Go help out the others." Fox said.

Tom nodded and broke away, zooming for the middle of the base. He checked his console. The timer of the bomb was now at 15 minutes and quickly ticking away. _We don't have much time. We need to take these guys out fast._ Suddenly, Slippy's voice came up on the intercom.

"I need some help! There's a bogey on my tail!" he cried. Andrew was really putting the hurt on Slippy, zipping around and blasting Slippy with speed.

"Stick to the pond, Froggy." Andrew taunted.

Tom then zipped in and fired multiple shots, damaging Andrew's hull.

"Now you're in for it!" Slippy shouted, as he made a U-turn and fired at Andrew.

"Uncle Andross!" Andrew shouted as his ship went down. Tom and Slippy then began flying side by side. "Thanks for that Tom." He said.

"That's what a teammate does though, eh?" Tom smiled.

"Let's go help the others out." Slippy said.

He boosted forward like a dart being thrown at a dart board to Falco, who was being tailed by Leon. Tom decided to break off and help out Peppy with an old friend.

"I'll do you fast, Peppy old pal." Pigma said mockingly, firing a few lasers at Peppy's Arwing. The blow had slowed Peppy's ship, making him a sitting duck.

"That reward's as good as mine!" Pigma said cackling.

"I need some help here, guys." Peppy said concerned. Just then, Fox zipped by, firing a couple of shots at Pigma, forcing him to wave off.

"You can't beat me. I've got a better ship." Pigma protested.

"That should give you an opening, Peppy." Fox said.

"Your father helped me like that too." Peppy said.

"Stay focused Peppy. Pigma isn't done yet." Tom said seriously.

"Right." Peppy said, as he started firing at Pigma. Tom flew in with a smart bomb, detonating it right in front of Pigma."

"My beautiful reward!" Pigma screamed. "AAAAAAAARRGHH!" and his ship was almost completely destroyed as it plummeted.

Falco was having some trouble with Leon, who, although had been outmatched in brute strength, was constantly firing at Falco.

"You're not as tough as I thought." Leon mocked Falco, as he put another scorch mark into Falco's Arwing.

"Shit. He's right behind me." Falco said. Tom, who had finished with Pigma, now rushed in and fired a few shots at Leon.

"Gee, I've been saved by Tom, how swell." Falco said jokingly.

"Very funny Falco. Now come on. We gotta finish these guys." Tom said, who had now looked at his monitor and saw that only 10 minutes remained.

Falco looped Leon and managed to get one shot in before Leon got right behind him again.

"Annoying bird. I am the great Leon." Leon said annoyed.

"As if that would matter. I'm taking you down, reptile." Falco said, as he fired a charge blast at Leon, which was a direct hit to the power engines.

"This can't be happening!" Leon said unbelievingly.

Fox was now back in Wolf's sights again, this time being fired at rapidly by Wolf.

"You'll be seeing your dad soon, Fox." He said.

"Not if I can help it." Tom said, zipping right in from underneath Fox.

Wolf had just pulled up to avoid crashing into Tom and was now right behind him.

"You're good, Tom. You always were. But I'm better." Wolf shouted, and fired a charge shot at Tom, hitting him but not doing much damage.

"What? Is that all you got?" Wolf said, taunting Tom.

"No, but this is." Tom said, as he turned off the engines. This caught Wolf off guard, allowing Tom to flip around and fire a smart bomb.

"No!" Wolf shouted. "End of the line, Wolf." Tom said, as he detonated the bomb, blasting Nebula into to the ground.

"I…can't…lose!" Wolf screamed, as he crashed 50 feet from Tom's Nebula. Fox witnessed the entire encounter and got worried.

"Tom? Tom, are you there?" Fox said, circling the wreckage of the ship.

"*cough* Yeah, I'm okay." Tom said, as he climbed from the wreckage of Nebula. _Sorry old girl. I'll get you repaired and back up to speed after this battle is over._

Tom then looked at the timer that was on his visor. _Five minutes remaining. _He then turned to his intercom.

"Fox, I need you to disarm the bomb. I'll guide you through the facility to the power station, but you need to hurry." Tom said.

"Right. I'll take care of the bomb now." Fox said, jetting to the hangar of the base.

Fox hopped out of the cockpit and pulled out his pistol.

"Okay. I'm inside the hangar." Fox said.

"Okay." Tom said. "There should be a panel on the right side of the door. It should have a hand scanner on it. All facility members and high-ranking Cornerian Army personnel should be able to access the door. Go ahead and scan your hand."

Fox took off his right-hand glove and placed it on the panel. "Access granted. Welcome, Fox McCloud." The door opened instantly, revealing a hallway littered with dead corpses of both Cornerian and Venomian forces. Scorch marks were scattered across the walls, telling of the struggle of the security forces being overpowered by the Venomians. Fox averted his eyes away from the carnage and back to his intercom.

"I'm in the hallway. There's a lot of dead in here." Fox said a little queasily.

"Damn. The Defense Forces didn't stand a chance. They most likely weren't prepared for military contact." Tom said a little sadly. "Uh, there should be a service elevator at the end of the hall. It should take you directly to the power station where you can disable the bomb."

Fox carefully stepped over the corpses, keeping his eyes to the ceiling to stop him from feeling so sick. Fox tripped over one of the corpses, moving it to reveal a Cornerian dog, mouth agape in shock, staring blankly at Fox. Fox screamed at the sight of it, but quickly got up and sprinted to the elevator. Fox was panting and almost vomiting all over himself from that encounter.

"Fox?!" Tom shouted with concern. "Fox? Are you there? Speak to me, dammit!"

"I'm here. I'm okay. Just got tripped up from a body." Fox said.

"Do you need me to come get you? You don't have to do this if you don't want to." Tom said, looking at the timer that showed only 3 minutes remaining.

"NO! No. I got this." Fox said reassuringly, though still a little traumatized.

"Okay. Once you reach the power station, you should see the bomb attached to the main power generator. The explosion will cause a huge explosion if it goes off. We don't want that."

Fox exited the elevator as soon as it reached the power station. There, in plain sight, was the bomb. Fox quickly ran to the bomb and opened the case. The case had a sequence of wires that contained numbers on them.

"There's numbers on these wires. This wasn't in the training." Fox said.

"Relax Fox. Okay, read me the numbers." Tom said, now panicking a little with only 1 minute left.

"They are 0, 7, 2, 5, 1, and 0. They mean anything to you?" Fox said.

Tom lifted his head in realization of the numbers. "It's Corneria Reclamation Day." Tom said.

Fox knew what Tom had said, and quickly cut the wires in that exact order. The bomb was then defused with only 5 seconds remaining. "Bomb has been defused. We're heading out." Fox said.

Tom exhaled deeply in relief, knowing that Star Fox would fight another day. "Hey Fox. Mind giving me a lift?" Tom said.

Back on the Great Fox, Tom was working on the repairs to Nebula. He was thinking about Wolf and how he had already sided with Andross. He also thought of Pigma but was very troubled by it. Just then, Fox walked into the room.

"You doing okay Tom?" Fox asked.

"I guess." Tom said.

"What seems to be the trouble?" Fox said, sitting down on the stool.

"Well, its about today's battle." Tom began.

"That was a close call, wasn't it?" Fox said. "Hey, I forgot to thank you about all that. I'm pretty sure I would've collapsed after what happened in that hallway." Fox said. Tom didn't seem amused by this.

"You thinking about what happened all those years ago, huh?" Fox said.

Tom looked at Fox rather sharply but turned back towards Nebula.  
"Seeing Pigma again really shook me up." Tom said. "I still feel responsible for everything that happened. And that fact is that slimy swine is still out there." Tom said coldly.

Fox stood up now. "What do you mean? We toasted those guys." Fox said reassuringly. Tom then turned right around, looking really grim.

"While you were in the base disabling the bomb, I went and searched Wolf's ship. Turns out, he was gone by the time I got there. Checked all the others too. All of them, empty."

"So that means..." Fox began.

"That means that they are still out there." Tom said.

Fox looked very concerned at Tom, almost as if Tom was a crazy psychotic killer. Noticing this, Tom quickly softened up and walked up to Fox.

"I'm sorry Fox. I just don't get why it has to be this way." Tom said sighing.

Fox then put a hand on Tom's shoulder. "Just remember that it wasn't your fault. Never forget that. And don't worry about Star Wolf. If they are out there, we'll find them. And when we do, justice will be waiting for them." Fox said. Tom nodded, and thought of James. _I know you're out there James. I know I promised to let go of my hatred for Pepper, but I never said anything about Pigma. I know you may not approve of this, but when I find him, I'm gonna make sure that I finish the job._


	13. The Child of Andross

Star Fox Beginnings

Chapter 13

The Child of Andross

"I've got you now you traitorous swine." Tom shouted while pointing his pistol at Pigma.

"What! You wouldn't harm an innocent unarmed man now, would you?" Pigma said. Tom walked closer to Pigma now, still pointing the gun.

"You are far from innocent Pigma. It's about time I end this once and for all." There was a shot and complete darkness for a split second.

Tom then started feeling a burning pain in his chest. Looking down, he noticed a burn mark going right through his heart. He turned around and saw Wolf pointing a gun, smoking from the shot he had just taken at Tom.

"No Tom. It's about time I ended YOU once and for all. This is for all the times you ruined my plans!"

Tom shouted out as Wolf pulled the trigger and fired another shot, blinding Tom.

Tom jerked awake, still shouting from the dream he had. Realizing that it wasn't real, he slumped back into the bed and played the dream again in his head. He had Pigma in his sights and all of a sudden Wolf comes in and kills Tom. Was this James trying to tell him not to exact his revenge on Pigma or was it just Tom's mind saying that revenge is wrong?

Realizing that he couldn't get back to sleep, Tom went down to the launch bay where Nebula was kept. She was almost fully repaired from the battle on Fichina, but still needed some diagnostics checked before he truly knew she could fly again. Picking up the tablet, Tom activated the systems scan. All the while, he continued to think about the dream. It tormented him, as if a termite was gnawing at his brain and wouldn't stop. Hearing footsteps coming down the hall, he turned to face the doorway and aimed his gun down the hallway, a fierce look of anger and vengeance in his eyes. A shocked Fox raised his hands.

"WHOA! Easy Tom. It's me!" he cried. Realizing this, Tom forcefully relaxed himself, holstering his gun. Tom then began to collapse, but Fox caught him just before he hit the floor.

"You okay?" Fox said concerned. Tom looked at Fox with a tired look.

"Sorry Fox. I couldn't get much sleep lately." Tom replied.

"What's been bothering you?" he said, setting Tom down on one of the crates. Tom started breathing a little slower now.

"I've been having dreams Fox. I've got Pigma at gunpoint and then Wolf shoots me." Tom explained.

"And how often have these dreams occurred?" Fox asked. Tom's face sank into a grimace.

"Since Fichina, Fox. I still can't shake the feeling that I could have ended it there." Anger was now building up inside Tom. Just then, the tablet rang, signaling the completion of the check. Tom picked up the tablet. The diagnostic read that Nebula was fully functional and was fly-worthy again. Tom put down the tablet and stood up, opening the hand-scanner.

"What are you doing?" Fox asked. The scanner glowed green, opening the cockpit.

"I'm going out flying around Fichina. I need to get my mind off of this and to blow off some steam." Tom responded, climbing the left wing. "Besides, I need to test her out." He gestured toward Nebula. Fox walked closer to Tom.

"At least let me fly with you." Fox said. Tom looked at Fox and gave a smile. He nodded his head, signaling for Fox to climb in.

After flying around Fichina for an hour or so, a call from Corneria HQ came in, forcing Tom and Fox to end their fun. Tom opened the commlink, showing General Pepper.

"Captain, I know it's a little early and I apologize for interrupting your flight test, but I need Star Fox's assistance. Your new orders are ready for you." Pepper barked.

Tom nodded his head, zooming back towards the Great Fox. After changing uniforms, Star Fox met on the Great Fox's bridge and awaited General Pepper's briefing. Within a few seconds, Pepper appeared on the screen.

"Star Fox, your new orders are to head to Combat Sector X and eliminate the Venomian force there. Reports indicate that Andross is working on some secret weapon there. We have sent in several squadrons of the Cornerian Fleet but have not heard from. them since."

"We'll check it out." Fox acknowledged.

"We're all over it." Tom chimed in. Tom then turned to ROB. "Set a course for Sector X."

"Right away, sir." ROB responded.

Within the first couple of days of the Lylat War, three major areas were designated as the fiercest combat zones of the system, where the most casualties of the war had been recorded by the Cornerian Fleet. Many space pirates had been engaged several times within these sectors, scrounging off of scrap floating around from many years of war. Each sector was named after the brightest constellation seen in that particular part of the system. Sector X, where the constellation Xenos can be seen, Sector Y, for the constellation Yggdris, and Sector Z, for the constellation Zeracus.

"Arriving at Sector X." ROB announced. The team had already scuttled the fighters.

"Looks like this is the place." Slippy said. Tom scanned the sector.

"Multiple Venomian signatures have been detected in this area. That weapon's gotta be here." Tom stated.

Fox opened fire upon a few patrol ships, destroying one of them completely.

"Let's take out that weapon, boys." Fox ordered.

"Let's have a little fun." Falco agreed.

Just then, Tom's scanners started going off.

"Multiple bandits closing in fast." He reported.

"Stay alert." Peppy urged.

Swarms of Venomian scorpion fighters began descending upon Star Fox. Fox, with his quick thinking, pointed his Arwing upwards and started shooting. Half of the fighters were destroyed instantly, leaving the rest of the group to mop up the rest of them. A couple of beatle frogs began spinning in, firing towards Slippy. Falco veered right and fired at it, but the beatle frog darted out of the way of the lasers.

"He's quick. Be careful." Peppy said, taking a couple hits to his shields from the beatle frogs.

Tom and Falco swooped in quick, firing a laser wall, boxing in the beatle frog and destroying it.

"Nice teamwork, Falco." Tom said pleased. Falco nodded and zipped off to find another target.

Tom then looked ahead. "Station panels ahead. We are almost at the weapons research facility."

Falco then chimed in. "Enemy group behind us."

Scorpion fighters began rushing forward, strafing over Star Fox. Falco, attempting to pick a few off, missed every shot he took.

"Man, they're fast." He said annoyed.

The scorpions U-turned and began firing toward Star Fox. Tom fired a smart bomb, eliminating the group.

Peppy checked his navigation point, which read 1000 meters from the base.

"We're gettin' close to the base." He said.

"Tighten formation." Tom said. As they continued on, the sensors picked up a mine field ahead.

"Quick, shoot the mines before they detonate a shockwave." Fox ordered.

Having been warned ahead of time, the mine field was easily eliminated. Auto-turret defense grids and turnip drones began firing on the group but were easily outmatched. Arriving at the base, all that they could see was destroyed pieces of the facility.

"Somebody beat us here. It's all gone!" Falco pointed out.

"This doesn't make any sense. The reports state that the fleet never got this far. Who could've destroyed this?" Tom wondered.

Up ahead, the panels were assembling themselves into a wall, blocking Star Fox's path. Just then, a giant robotic arm smashed through the defense, creating an opening.

"What the hell is that?!" Falco retorted, barely dodging the flying arm.

Peppy then zoomed forward, being tailed by five beetle frogs.

"They're on me. I'm getting careless!" Peppy shouted.

Fox responded to the cry with a charge blast, wiping out all of the enemy fighters.

"Thanks, Fox." Peppy said.

Traversing through more debris, the robotic arm continued to follow Star Fox. Tom wondered if something from the database would tell him what this thing was. Meanwhile, Fox had then moved to the interior of the station, along with Slippy.

"I'll attack from the outside." Peppy said.

"I'll follow your lead." Tom responded.

"Interceptor system dead ahead." Sllippy called out.

Fox and Slippy continued to move through the wreckage, destroying the turret defenses that attempted to block them. Though as Star Fox continued to eliminate the defenses, the objective was still nowhere in sight.

"Where is the secret weapon?" Peppy asked.

"Stay sharp guys. It should be dead ahead." Tom said, still focused on the mission.

Peppy, wanting to get a better look on the situation, zoomed forward.

"I'm going ahead. Back me up, Fox." Peppy called. Fox nodded his head in agreement.

Just then, the robot arm crashed through another piece of the panel, nearly missing Peppy.

"That was too close Peppy." Tom sighed.

Peppy, noticing the dangers that he was just in, pulled up and regrouped with the rest of the force. Tom checked the records of the base. "The weapon should be here." He questioned. Just then, a giant shadow cast itself over Nebula. Looking up, Tom's mouth became agape in awe of what he was seeing. Falco seemed to notice it too.

"What the hell? Fox, look behind you!" Falco cried.

Ahead, many scorpion fighters drifted powerlessly in space as a giant black robot jettisoned its way in front of Star Fox. Tom scanned the robot and found only a slim piece of writing from the journal.

"Spyborg. Secret Weapon Notes of Doctor Andross. The Spyborg is to be one of my greatest creations in the history of the Lylat System. This particular weapon is an artificial intelligence consisting of the main body and two detachable arms. The Spyborg is also equipped with walker legs, a significant upgrade from the Granga. Although it is not in full mass production, I believe that this particular Spyborg will be the queen of all of them and will follow her creator and father without question. That is, if she knows who he is."

"So this is the secret weapon." Fox said.

"This is gonna be one hell of a fight." Tom responded.

"Destroy. Destroy." Spyborg cried, reattaching her arms.

"Be ready. It's about to attack." Peppy warned them.

"I will terminate all enemies." Spyborg called out.

Slippy flew up to Spyborg. "Maybe we can make friends with her." Slippy suggested.

Spyborg swung its right arm at Slippy. "You are an enemy." It cried.

"Slippy! Get out of there!" Tom shouted.

Slippy veered off to the right at the last second. "Whoa! That was close!" Slippy breathed.

Spyborg continued to swat at the group as if they were annoying flies. Once or twice after each swat, Spyborg would taunt Star Fox into coming closer.

"Aim for the face. That should be its weak spot." Tom ordered.

"Where is the creator?!" Spyborg called out, firing off its arms towards the group.

"What's he saying?" Fox puzzled, easily dodging them.

"She's trying to find Andross. Quick guys, take its damn face off now!" Tom called hastily.

Star Fox continued to fire at the face until it was blown off. Spyborg began to power down, defeated. Immediately after however, Spyborg powered up again, waggling its finger at Star Fox.

"Huh? What?!" Fox exclaimed.

"The view is clear." Spyborg remarked, throwing a piece of panel at them. "Destroy. Destroy."

"Destroy what? He's crazy." Falco jabbed.

Spyborg was now flailing its arms around, attempting to hit something.

"Where is the enemy?" it cried.

"It doesn't even know what it's trying to destroy? We better finish it off quick." Tom said.  
"Let me handle this." Slippy boasted, rushing forward.

"Slippy, get back here!" Peppy scolded.

"How's this for a weakling?" Slippy shouted firing at Spyborg.

Spyborg wound up and swatted at Slippy, damaging the hull and sending Slippy flying.

"FOX!" Slippy called flying towards a desolate planet.

"SLIPPY!" Fox cried.

"Damn! Now you've done it!" Tom shouted. "Fox, double bomb this prick." He called.

"you got it. FOR SLIPPY!" Fox cried firing a smart bomb. Tom also fired a smart bomb, screaming a war cry as he detonated the bomb, finishing off Spyborg.

"I must be complete!" Spyborg cried as it exploded.

With the battle over, Fox turned his attention to finding out where Slippy flew off to.

"ROB, can you confirm Slippy's location?" Fox said.

"Distress signal coming from Titania." ROB reported.

"Let's go save Slippy, team."

"I'm with you Fox. I'm not willing to lose another member." Tom said as he and the rest of Star Fox set a course for the ancient desert world of Titania.


End file.
